If I Got Better
by anais117
Summary: "Would you love me if I got better?" Katniss asks Peeta as her head lies in his lap. "I'd love you just as much as I do now. It doesn't matter," he replies stroking her hair. Katniss wished she could believe that. Modern Day AU Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.
1. Prologue

For as long as Katniss could remember she's battled some sort of sadness. Her parents divorced when she was no more than a toddler and being split between the two left her feeling disjointed. She blamed herself even at that age for them no longer loving one another. It didn't help when both her parents went on to have additional children with other people. Her little brother came along first when she was four from her father and his new wife. Her sister Prim came along when she was five after her mother remarried a man who was identical in looks to her. Even Prim came out with the same blonde hair and blue eyes they shared. Katniss felt out of place at home with her mother. When she would go over to her dad's house, his new wife treated her badly and didn't give her much attention. Besides having her little brother, her step mother had her own son two years younger than Katniss. They all shared the same look; dark hair and eyes, while she was the only one with gray eyes and dark hair. It was peculiar she even noticed the difference, but with other family members constantly pointing it out, it wasn't too surprising she'd pick up on it.

As she got older she grew sadder and sadder. If it wasn't one thing it was the other. They moved to a new town when she was 12 and she had to make all new friends. Well not like she had many in her old school, but at least she had a quiet understanding with her classmates to leave her alone. Prim at the age of 7 didn't have that problem as her bubbly personality paved the way for her. People seemed to be repelled by Katniss and they left her sitting alone at the 7th grade side of the lunch room. Somehow she was noticed by one boy but she never noticed him. Peeta Mellark was a popular boy who was athletic and very charismatic. Many girls wanted him to take them out, but he never really dated anyone. He was taken aback by the new girl Katniss. It was something about the long braid that would always hang over her shoulder and her steely gray eyes. He didn't know why that combination attracted him so much.

The years went on with Katniss finally making a friend; a fellow outcast who dressed in Goth clothes, Johanna. She was from a broken home and spent most of her time cutting class and smoking out back. Katniss joined her a few times, but not to smoke. She didn't talk much about anything, and neither did Johanna. They just enjoyed holding up the wall together.

It was 9th grade now and being 14 going on 15, the kids in their class started hooking up with one another. Peeta still noticed her from a far but finally gave into social pressure, and began dating some of the other girls in his class. They were all nice enough, but they weren't the mysterious Katniss he had come to admire. Most were very bubbly and wanted to hold his hand in public and kiss him behind the school. He was shy about affection and only agreed to the occasional hand hold and a peck on the cheek. Peeta unintentionally broke a few girls' hearts.

Katniss was still sad at this point but it now turned into a sort of depression. When she wasn't forced to be at school, she stayed in her room and slept a lot. She never thought of suicide thankfully, but she did fantasize about running away from her family to a place where she could start over. She didn't want to be the older sister or daughter anymore that two families didn't want.

By 16 Katniss had finally begun to see the school's therapist after her English teacher noticed something in her writing. She was very good but something was off so after being sent to the office, she reluctantly signed up for a weekly session with the school's therapist. At the recommendation of this therapist, she was put on a low dose anti-depressant to help improve her moods.

It helped make her feel better, but she still was to herself and quiet around anyone but her friends. Her friends included Johanna and now they added two more to the mix, Annie a girl she met in her English class, and her boyfriend Finnick. Katniss felt better having her little group of friends now to spend time with and now she had an excuse to escape her hormonal pre-teen sister.

Peeta continued to notice her, but luck would have it that they would share an art class together. Katniss was placed into it after her elective writing class was canceled due to low enrollment. Peeta wasn't exactly a student in her class but more like a teacher's assistant since he was a sort of virtuoso and was already granted an A in any art class he was in. He was just that good, but wanted the teacher's assistant experience on his resume so the school agreed to help him.

"Hi Katniss," Peeta waves as he begins to move around the room to prepare it for class. Katniss is there early since she didn't have to stop at her locker beforehand.

"Hi," she mumbles more to be polite than actually wanting to. She has noticed Peeta too but had formed the opinion that he was too popular to care to get to know her. She assumed he was just talking to her because he had to. The same went for when she visited his family's bakery and he would say hi to her and start small talk. It was a part of customer service she told herself as she shrugged it off. The only nice people were her three friends.

Senior year approached and Peeta continued to say hi to her whenever he saw her. She responded back but never understood why he kept giving her the time of day. Katniss stayed close to her friends who now included one more; Johanna's boyfriend Gale. He lived up the block from her but hadn't spoken to her until he was with Johanna. Most times Katniss felt like a fifth wheel with them so she reverted back to being alone most of her free time. Somehow her anti-depressant stopped working and her doctor changed it again. It still didn't work, but she didn't want the hassle so she kept quiet and managed her pain.

Katniss walked across the stage to receive her diploma and smiled faintly in the crowd toward her parents and their families. They decided to throw Katniss a joint party, but she wound up staying in her room. Prim was now boy crazy at 13 and kept checking out Katniss' 14 year old half-brother. Prim didn't seem to care that they were somewhat related and neither did he. It was too much for Katniss to see them like that, or her parents actually being cordial with the other. Her mother actually talked to her father's wife like old friends.

The party ended without them even noticing Katniss was gone. When she came back downstairs later that night she spotted a few envelopes on the counter that had her name on them. They were cards from everyone containing money. She opened them up and put the money in her wallet. It was late at night but she needed to get out of the house.

Katniss got a car for her 18th birthday last month in May and she's been enjoying it ever since. She decides to drive to the lake and walk along the boardwalk they built a few years back. It will help calm her so she could eventually come back home and get some rest. She doesn't expect to find anyone else there but to her surprise there's a car parked. When she looks over she sees no one inside and decides to go ahead on her walk. A few minutes in she comes upon someone leaning over the railing overlooking the lake. It's Peeta Mellark.

"What are you doing here?" She asks him. He looks up in shock at running into the very person he was just thinking about.

"Just thinking," he responds. "How about you?"

"Trying to run away from home," she deadpans but he just laughs.

She turns around and leans over the railing to look over the lake, standing a few inches from him.

"So are you going away to college?" He attempts in conversation.

"No. I'm trying out the community college so I can work at the same time. How about you?"

"Me too. I'll be working more at the bakery and since I'll inherit it one day, it doesn't make since to go away."

"What about your art?"

"What about it?" Peeta turns to her.

"You were really good," she begins turning toward him too. "I thought you'd want to do something with that. Maybe go to New York or something."

"No," he chuckles. "That was just a hobby of mine. My mother would never let me 'waste my life', on that."

"You are really good," she compliments again. "It wouldn't be a waste." Katniss is surprised at the ease of their conversation but figures it probably because she's been feeling extra lonely since her friends had been busy with prom preparation and then had an after party; both she declined to participate in. They've been distant ever since and with all of them going away for college, she doesn't even know how strong their friendship will stay.

"Thank you Katniss. That means a lot to me." Peeta smiles at her before turning around to face the lake again. The pair stand in silence until her legs become sore and she decides it's time to head home.

"Well thanks for the chat," she tells him. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Wait," Peeta calls out as she walks away. "Can I have your number?"

"What for?" Katniss looks at him oblivious.

"To maybe hang out sometime?" Katniss stands there mulling over what he's just asked her. Even though they had been on a 'hello' basis, she never thought he would want to hang out with her.

"Okay." Katniss walks over to him and takes his phone to type her number in. She calls herself and takes out her own ringing phone. Katniss saves his information and tells him good night. Peeta smiles to himself as she begins to walk away.

"Goodnight," he calls after her and she turns and waves. She has no idea that she had just made his night.

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**Thanks for reading! Find me on Tumblr at lenai17. Feedback greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you to everyone who has read my story and commented so far. It has been recommended by Everlark Recs on Tumblr and that made my day. Happy Reading!**

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The summer crept on leaving Katniss with not much to do. Even though she had secured a job at the college bookstore, she wouldn't start until the end of August. She decided to try to fill the time with seeing her small group of friends; more accurately her small group of girlfriends. While she enjoyed the company of Gale and Finnick, to avoid feeling like an out of placed fifth wheel, she would ask the two girls to hang out instead.

Katniss would invite the girls over to her house to watch movies, listen to music, and to chat about what they expected when they started college. The conversation however always steered toward the boyfriends of the two. Katniss sat there bored listening to Johanna go on and on about Gale knowing how to use his hands, while Annie would quip that Finnick knows how to use his hands and other parts of his body. Whenever the conversation went there Katniss would tune them out only offering a small laugh when she noticed them laughing or a head nod when they seemed to agree on something.

It was hard for her to realize that her friends were turning into new people. They were no longer high school students, but college students and it seemed Katniss didn't know how to make that transition. Johanna explained she hated middle and high school and that was why she wore black all the time; her silent protest against it. Now that it was over, she felt free to do whatever she wanted and that included embracing college life and thoroughly enjoying her boyfriend.

Katniss always knew Annie with Finnick so it wasn't much to get used to, but it seemed to her that Annie was slowly taking Johanna away from her, especially since they had having a boyfriend in common. Even if just the three of them were together, sometimes Katniss felt left out of the conversations if it was about relationship type things.

Soon enough her hang out with the girls went from a few times a week to just once if that. She found herself lonely again, like the beginning of the summer so she decided to talk to the one person who had been texting her non-stop since the night after her graduation party.

Peeta sent her a text at least once a day asking how she was doing and encouraging her to text him whenever she was ready to hang out. Katniss always came up with an excuse to brush him off, but one day when all the thoughts in her head became too much, and the girls canceled on their plans with her to instead double date, she decided to visit Peeta at the bakery.

The look on Peeta's face when she walked into the bakery and took a seat was priceless. The previous smile he held while handling a customer, only grew when he noticed her there. Katniss didn't look at him at first, deciding to wait until some of the customers cleared out so she wouldn't bother him. Rye, Peeta's middle brother, noticed Katniss sitting there and made a beeline for Peeta at the counter.

"Is that her?" He asks incredulously in a low voice as Peeta closes the cash register and the last customer walks away. Peeta had been talking non-stop about finally speaking to the girl he had noticed for all those years.

"Yes," Peeta whispers back.

"Hmm," Rye begins. "She's pretty but what's with the permanent scowl? She reminds me of Mom." Peeta elbows him in the ribs and turns his head to face him and with a stern look he mouths, 'shut up,' so that Katniss doesn't notice they're both staring at her and whispering. Rye shakes his head and with a smirk, walks back through the kitchen doors to finish his prep work. Peeta washes his hands and walks from behind the counter in Katniss' direction.

"Hey Katniss. So you finally made it." Peeta smiles at her warmly. "Would you like anything?" He offers.

"Hi," she starts in a low voice. "I'm not sure what I want." Katniss hadn't eaten anything from a bakery in ages ever since her mother went on a health kick that was inspired by Prim. The 13 year old was now obsessed with her looks and thought that since she didn't have a thigh gap, that she was fat. Katniss was too tired most of the time to argue so she just ate whatever they had at home. That was if she even was awake to eat. On the days she wasn't with her friends, Katniss stayed in bed for nearly the whole day and didn't eat much beyond the fruit that filled their refrigerator. On the days her depression got the best of her, she didn't eat at all.

"Well I just pulled out a few batches of cheese buns. They're the number one seller." Peeta stands there enthusiastically describing the cheese buns while Katniss just stares up at him. He seems so happy and she wonders what his secret is.

"I'll try one of those then," she finally orders.

"Anything to drink?"

"Water."

Peeta quickly prepares her order and places the plate and glass on her table with a nod of his head. Katniss gives him a small smile and watches as he goes behind the counter.

Katniss takes her time picking at the confection while watching the interactions between Peeta and the customers and Peeta and Rye. He's excellent with the customers giving each one of them a smile and a thank you as they purchase their items. Katniss wonders if the bakery is popular because of the food or because of him.

Rye playfully ribs at his brother making him laugh and feign anger. For a moment Katniss wonders how it would be if her and Prim were like this. Most of the time Prim yelled at her or told her how boring she was. It pained her that she wasn't close to her only sister. Her brothers tried to be friendlier to her, but often got sucked into the bad attitude their mother showed her. The nicest thing they would say to her was 'goodbye' when she left.

Katniss pulls out one of her many books that she writes in and begins to scribble down a few words. She doesn't know if they'll become a poem, a song, or even a story. That's the adventure of it all and it's Katniss' escape. Whenever she felt sad or depressed, she would write and write until those bad feelings were out of her. Most times she would just exhaust herself and fall asleep. It was better than feeling the actual depression steadily drag her down. It was her coping mechanism.

Katniss didn't realize she spent her entire day writing and eating cheese buns in the bakery. Peeta never disturbed her, other than giving her cheese buns and refilling her glass of water, but instead watched her as much as he could between handling customers and his own prep work. He liked knowing she was here at his family's bakery, right in front of him.

At the end of the night Katniss attempts to pay for the four cheese buns she ate but her money is waved away.

"My treat," Peeta tells her and she replies with a quiet 'thank you.'

Peeta walks her out the front door and to her car making sure she gets in safely. She rolls down the windows and Peeta leans in.

"Thanks for coming by today. Maybe next time we hang out we can actually do something together."

"Alright," Katniss answers back.

"I'll text you later," Peeta yells as Katniss backs out of the parking lot. She waves as she drives off and Peeta smiles to himself before going back inside.

Katniss turns on her IPod that is connected to her car and scrolls through to an album by one of her favorite Indie pop singers. She sings along in a clear alto singing voice tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as she heads home. Besides writing, music has also become sort of an escape for her. Katniss would put on headphones and blast all types of music and when she would just focus on the rhythms and melodies, it would clear her head.

The only one who is still up when Katniss arrives home is Prim and she's watching a show simultaneously while chatting with her friends on the Internet.

"Hey Prim," Katniss softly greets. Prim turns her head and quickly waves and then goes back to her laptop. Katniss walks into the kitchen and grabs a bottle of water before heading upstairs to her room. She says 'good night' to Prim but she doesn't wait there for a response.

Katniss undresses and puts on her nightclothes before settling in her bed. She goes to plug in her phone when she sees a text from Peeta.

_Good night and thanks for stopping by today. I hope so see you soon :)__  
_

For the life of her she doesn't understand why he sends her texts like this. She concludes that he wants to be friends and thinking about how busy her current friends are, she'll allow it. Peeta is nice enough and maybe spending time with him would help her get through the summer. At least when school starts she'll be busy with classes and a job. Once she adds her usual hobbies of writing and music, her day will be filled.

Katniss finishes her bottle of water and sends back a text to Peeta.

_Goodnight Peeta. I'll see you later._

She turns off her phone and plugs it in, turning her side lamp off right after. Her eyes close and sleep finds her soon after.

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	3. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it all and it makes writing this story very easy. **

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"Katniss!" Her mother screams outside of her bedroom door. Katniss sits up startled as her mother bangs on the door. "You need to get up. You've been in bed all day."

"Mom," Katniss begins, yawning and scratching her neck.

"Are you decent? Can I come in?" Her mother demands.

"Come in," her voice scratchy. Her mother walks into the room and pulls the shades up and opens her windows.

"Katniss seriously you've been in bed all day today and for the last few days. You need to get up and out of the house."

"I don't feel well," she replies her voice catching.

"You never feel well," her mother responds finally. "I want you up and in the shower in five minutes and then I want you go outside. Take the car somewhere; just get out of the house." Her mother leaves the room as hastily as she entered leaving Katniss with tears in her eyes.

Since she came home from the bakery around a week ago Katniss has been feeling out of sorts. She's aware her medication isn't working any longer and it seems as the days go by she feels worse. Katniss still doesn't want to go to the doctor to have her prescription changed and besides, her mother doesn't seem worried enough about what she's currently dealing with anyway.

Reluctantly Katniss gets out of the bed and heads for the bathroom. It's two o'clock in the afternoon and she can feel the heat of the outdoors in the tiled room. She turns on the shower and quickly enters it after she strips from the pajamas she had been wearing for the last few days.

The water feels good on Katniss' skin but she's not really up to washing herself. She can't shake the heavy feeling her depression is causing her but she doesn't want to hear her mother again. There's a large bottle of body wash that she pours in her palm and smooths over her body. After she's done that twice, she squeezes shampoo in her hair and works out of the knots that had been forming as a result of an unkempt braided pony tail.

When she's finally done she towels off and then puts on her robe that's hanging there and goes back to her room. She decides to text Johanna to see what she's up to so she'll have somewhere to go.

_Hey Johanna. Are you doing anything today?_

_Hey Stranger! I didn't know you were still alive. I'm out on a double date with Annie but tomorrow we're going to the lake. Do you want to come?_

_Alright._

_Leave your car home. I'll pick you up around noon._

_Sounds good._

"That was easy enough," Katniss says to herself as she exits out the text messenger app on her phone. Now she just needs something to do right now so her mother won't flip out. She decides to head to the library and sit in one of the rooms used for quiet study to write some more in her notebook.

Prim is chatting on her cellphone in the living room while her father sits in his recliner reading a book. Katniss' mother is in the kitchen preparing lunch and when she sees her she smiles, but not a genuine one; it doesn't reach her eyes.

"So where are you off to?" Her mother questions as she spreads mayonnaise on a piece of bread.

"The library."

"Will any of your friends be there?"

"They're on a date with their boyfriends."

"Why didn't you go?" She inquires raising an eyebrow.

"I don't have a boyfriend." Katniss' mother shakes her head at this and looks down at the sandwich she's arranging.

"Well you might want to work on that this summer. I was already dating your father at your age."

"Awesome," she replies with a fake smile. She doesn't want to bring up the fact that they are divorced and it probably had something to do with them running around at age 18 pretending to be adults and then her mother getting pregnant at 19 with her leading to the mess that is her life now.

"Well, have a good time. Your curfew is midnight so don't rush home." Katniss turns around at this with more tears welling up in her eyes. She's clearly dealing with something and instead of her mom asking about what's going on with her, she pushes her to stay out of the house until midnight. The library closes at 6pm in the summer so what is she do for the rest of those hours?

Katniss leaves the house and is met with the burning hot sun. If she weren't already tan, this would be the perfect day to sit outside and work on it. Her car is unbearably hot when she enters it, and the leather seats do nothing but burn the skin on the back of her legs further. She starts her car and blasts the air conditioner.

Katniss arrives at the library, parking her car in the back. She takes the books out of the passenger seat that she borrowed the last time to return them. After returning her books in the front, she heads to the back where the secluded rooms are and finds them all empty. She chooses a corner room, closing the door and sitting down on the one of the chairs.

As Katniss begins to write she feels her phone buzz and she takes it out of her purse and sees a message from her mother asking her to pick up something from the grocery store.

"I'm out having fun, not doing your errands," Katniss mumbles to herself as she shuts her phone off.

She quickly forgets about her mother's antics and continues writing random words in her book. It's starting to look like a poem.

_Cool Air_

_Cool Skin_

_Angry Face_

_Writing Words_

_Buzz_

Katniss continues to jot words down and then connects them with her thoughts at the moment. Before she realizes it, a library staff member is knocking on the glass and tapping on their watch. She looks down and flips through her book noticing she's gone through 10 pages and they're all filled up with words that seem as if they don't go together. Katniss gathers her things and walks out of the quiet room and to the front. It's a little cooler than it was when she came in around three, but still very warm.

Her drive to the grocery story is short and her pursuit for the watermelon her mother requested is even shorter. She drives home with the large fruit strapped into the back seat. When she produces it in the kitchen to her mother, she just grabs it without a thanks and begins to cut into it. Katniss takes a bottle of water out of the fridge and heads to her room. She sits on her bed when she realizes she hasn't eaten anything today, but her stomach doesn't growl. Thirst hits her because of the hot sun but nothing else reacts. Before she knows it she's curling up and falling asleep on the bed.

"Katniss!" her mother's voice booms. "Why are you back in bed!" Boom, Boom! Katniss sits up and wipes the drool from her face, her heart racing. Her mother pushes the door in.

"I told you I didn't want you sleeping all day. Now come downstairs for dinner." Her mother rushes out again leaving Katniss confused and a little scared. She walks over to the bathroom and washes her face not realizing a few tears have escaped her eyes and run down her cheeks. Her mother startled her to the point of making her cry. Katniss is usually emotionless when she's depressed, but her mother seems to be bringing something out of her that's buried deep inside.

Katniss joins her family at the table after she serves herself a small portion and grabs a bottle of water.

"Is that all you're eating?" Prim asks staring at her plate.

"I'm not really hungry," Katniss replies in a whisper.

"No wonder you're so skinny. You barely eat!" Katniss looks down at her plate and stabs at the grilled chicken that's mixed in with the green leaves of the salad her mother most likely prepared. Her step father sits at the head of the table eating his food quietly while her mother chatters on about an exercise class her and Prim are starting next week.

"I wish I didn't have to work out so hard," Prim laments. "If only I had a natural runner's body like yours Katniss." It's not really a compliment for Prim to discuss Katniss' body type because she knows she just doing it so their mother can tell Katniss she's too skinny and that she's taking this health kick that her and Prim are on too seriously. Little do they know, the combination of her medication and the sinking feeling of her depression are making her lose her appetite.

"Now for dessert," her mother announces after everyone finishes their salad. "Sugar free watermelon Jell-O with real watermelon. Thank you Prim for the recipe!" Prim beams at their mother while Katniss tries not to stab her glass plate. Hadn't she lugged that huge melon into the house? Where was her thank you?

After forcing herself to eat her portion of the most disgusting Jell-O she's had in her life, she decides she needs another drive. Her mother says nothing as she grabs her keys and exits the house. She hops in her car and starts it before backing out the driveway and driving to an unknown destination. Tears are pricking her eyes at her mother and sister's performances but she doesn't want to cry while she's driving. Katniss finds herself at the lake and she pulls into the small parking lot that's near the boardwalk. Finally she leans her head down and lets it all out.

Her emotions are out of whack today and the only thing that was keeping her grounded was her ability to sleep the day away. Her mother disturbed her so much that she genuinely felt fear and it just made everything else worse. To top it off her own sister seemed to be against her.

Time passes as she cries into her steering wheel and her muffled sobs echo throughout her car. It was nearly nine at night when she left her house but when she looks up it's after ten. She must have fell asleep while she was crying. Katniss gets out the car, finally deciding she needs some air to help calm her down further. She's slow at first walking up the boardwalk and she finds herself making out the form of someone familiar.

"We can't keep meeting like this," Peeta chuckles as he notices Katniss walking up beside him. She's quiet as she observes him and it makes him feel a bit uneasy.

"So what brings you here?" He questions clearing his throat.

"Just needed some fresh air," she croaks.

"It's a nice night out tonight. Especially after all of that heat." Katniss nods her head and turns toward the lake.

"What are you doing out here?" She asks a few minutes later.

"My parents are fighting again," he sighs. "Sometimes I wish they'd get a divorce already." Katniss doesn't respond to his statement instead keeping her focus on the water. If he only knew how much a divorce hurts a family, he wouldn't wish his parents go through that.

"My dad decided to tell my mom that my oldest brother Brandon wants to open another location of our bakery across town since he bought a house there with his wife. He also mentioned that he added me on the official business paperwork since I'm 18 and am finished with high school. She went berserk."

"Why?" Katniss responds her voice low and childlike.

"She doesn't think I'm responsible enough and she doesn't like Brandon's wife. She thinks she coerced my brother into wanting to open another bakery location. My mom thinks any woman who's interested in her sons, only want their money."

"I'm sorry," she offers not turning from the water.

"It's alright Katniss. It's not your fault. My mother is just a handful sometimes." They stand there after that looking at the water before Peeta speaks up again. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"The lake with my friends."

"Oh," he nods his head and suddenly Katniss feels guilty for not responding to his messages the last week.

"You can come along if you're not busy," she finally tells him.

"Sure," he smiles at her.

"We'll be here around noon."

"I look forward to it." The pair continue to look out onto the water until Peeta announces he needs to head home.

"Thanks for listening to me vent," he speaks to her giving her a smile.

"No problem," she responds.

"Well, have a goodnight."

"Good night Peeta," she whispers to him as he begins to walk away.

"See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

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**Thanks for reading! Find me on Tumblr at lenai17!**


	4. Chapter 3

"Katniss I'm outside," Johanna speaks through the phone. "Are you ready?"

"I am, just getting my bags." Katniss didn't get much sleep after leaving the boardwalk some time after Peeta left to head home. She was mesmerized by the movement of the lake and nearly 11pm turned into half past midnight. Her family was asleep when she arrived home and it didn't look as if they cared when she would finally get back.

"Hey stranger!" Johanna calls out as Katniss sits in the back of her car. She waves to her and then Gale who sitting next to her in the passenger seat.

"Hey Catnip," Gale turns around to speak to her. The nickname he has for her started as a joke when Johanna finally introduced the two. She had mumbled her name and he jokingly responded with that moniker. Katniss doesn't really like it but because she didn't want to have an issue with Gale, or Johanna for that matter, she just let it slide.

"So we're picking up Finnick and Annie next. How have you been?" Katniss goes on to make small talk with the two of them but would prefer if they just stopped talking to her. She's not really in the mood to converse, but that's not unusual for her.

"Oh, I invited Peeta Mellark to come along. I hope it's okay," she nearly whispers.

"Peeta Mellark?" Johanna begins. "You mean that baker kid that you've been hanging out with?"

"Yes."

"He wants to hang out with you?" Gale questions. "No offense but wasn't he insanely popular in high school?"

"Yes," Katniss looks down into her lap. "We sort of just ran into each other and…" Katniss trails off feeling uncomfortable having to justify why Peeta was friendly toward her.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter," Johanna cuts in as she slaps Gale's arm. He mouths, "What?" to her, lifting his arms as if he didn't know that he was being rude. "The more the merrier," Johanna finally adds and Gale seems to relax at that. Katniss continues to look out the window hoping the awkward moment would hurry up and pass.

Minutes later the trio arrive at Annie's house where her and Finnick pile into the back of the car, nearly squeezing Katniss against the window. The back seat is big enough for all of them, it's just Finnick has his legs open as if he has a bowling ball situated between them.

Katniss greets them quietly and then goes back to looking out the window. Her friends start up a conversation she eagerly ignores and soon there's laughter around her head. She's not in on whatever joke that has just been said and they don't seem to care that she isn't.

When they finally reach the parking lot outside of the entrance of the lake, they look out and see it's still pretty empty even though it's around the time when it's usually crowded. Katniss looks around for Peeta's car and doesn't find it so she decides to text him so that he'll know she's already there.

The group trek out across the sand that was put in place by the city to create a beach like environment in front of the small lake. They set up a few feet away from the water and before Katniss even realizes her friends have thrown down their items and are either being carried in or playfully dragged into the lake by their boyfriends.

She sighs and settles down smoothing out the blanket Johanna brought and placing the bags in each corner so it doesn't blow away. When she attempts to stick the heavy umbrella in the sand she hears a voice behind her.

"Whoa, let me help you with that," Peeta says to her grabbing the heavy pole. He then lifts it up and one attempt jabs it deep enough in the sand. "You might want to put some water there so it'll stick." Katniss looks up at him and nods reaching for her water bottle in her bag and spraying the area. "Where are you friends by the way?" he questions a few minutes later after laying his bags down on the blanket.

"In the water."

"And they just left you here?" He responds lifting an eyebrow.

"Sort of. I think they got carried away. I'll watch your stuff if you want to go in," she replies to him looking down at the blanket. Peeta sits down and pats the space next to him.

"No I'm staying right here with you." Katniss studies him for a moment before taking the seat next to him. They're both under the umbrella looking out into the water.

"So how long were you here last night after I left?" Peeta asks her.

"After midnight some time. I got lost in the waves."

"Oh. I've had that happen to me." A quiet falls between them as Peeta tries to think of new topics to bring up with Katniss. Just as he's about to talk about cheese buns, he notices a group of people heading toward the blanket dripping wet.

"Sorry about that," Johanna calls to Katniss as she fishes through her bag for a towel. "I really wanted to get in."

"It's alright," she responds quietly not taking her eyes off the water.

"I'm Peeta Mellark by the way," Peeta introduces to the group extending his hand to all of them. Katniss cheeks warm at forgetting about him sitting next to her, but he seems to know what he's doing.

"You were on the wrestling team right?" Finnick inquires.

"Yeah," he answers, "And you were on the swim team."

"Yes I was," Finnick smiles at his response. "State champions every year I was on the team," his smile widens and Annie slaps his arm.

Katniss' friends dry off and wrap themselves in towels and begin to open their coolers to have a snack. She turns to her own cooler and fishes out a bowl of cut up fruit. Her friends decline when she offers but Peeta takes a few pieces.

"Did you bring anything?" Katniss asks Peeta.

"Some stuff from the bakery, but I was planning to hit the concession stand. Do you want to come with me?" Katniss looks up to him and nods her head and then puts her bowl of fruit away. She asks her friends if they want anything and they all shake their heads. Katniss gets up from her spot and follows Peeta toward the grilling station silently.

She stands with him as he eyes the menu trying to pick something out. She smells the burgers cooking but it does nothing for her lack of appetite. When they get to the front Peeta offers to buy her something but she refuses citing that she has enough food in her cooler. He nods and places his order.

They wait a while, leaning against the counter and Peeta tries to start up a conversation with her again. When he fails he decides to look for his order and to his delight it's finally ready. He then takes it and they head back to their blanket.

"How's the burger?" Katniss asks Peeta when they finally sit down and he begins to eat.

"Decent I guess. I've had better." Katniss frowns at him and he continues to eat shrugging his shoulders.

After Peeta finishes his burger, Katniss her fruit, and her friends their sandwiches and other foods, they sit in a circle and start chatting.

"I just remembered that there's going to be a bonfire tonight. Do you guys want to stay for it?" Gales asks the group. Johanna nods her head and so does Finnick and Annie.

"What time will it be?" Katniss requests looking toward Gale.

"Around eight until midnight." Katniss considers his words but part of her is starting to feel tired and she hasn't even been in the water yet.

"So are you going to come?" Annie starts. "I know why you haven't been hanging out with us as much lately. Peeta is here so you don't have to worry about being the fifth wheel." Gale snickers and Johanna slaps his arm again. Katniss looks down, her face feeling hot and Peeta looks at her frowning slightly with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Okay," she gives in not looking up at her friends. Peeta feels his own face grow hot but not out of embarrassment but pure anger. In that moment he feels like he needs to take her out of the situation.

"Katniss do you want to go into the water with me?" His frown and furrowed eyebrows disappear and a smile creeps across his face.

"Sure," she agrees, silently grateful to be getting out of this embarrassing situation. She kicks off her sandals and lowers her shorts, leaving herself in a swim tunic over her bathing suit. Her friends say nothing as Peeta takes off his shirt bearing his broad chest that's dusted with golden blonde hair that trails along his toned stomach. Peeta also kicks off his sandals and begins to walk toward the water, slowing until Katniss reaches his side.

"Katniss can I ask you something?" Peeta faces her as they reach the edge of the lake.

"Sure," Katniss responds as she begins to stick her toes into the water.

"Why do you hang out with them?" He begins. "I've only known them for like five seconds and I can see that they don't consider you when making decisions."

"It's nothing," she replies. "They're just joking around."

"Katniss that's not joking around. There's obviously an issue you're having with them that you addressed and it seems they're laughing about it." Peeta continues to stare at her, his eyes pleading.

"Don't worry about it Peeta. You don't know them very well. They're good people." Katniss finds herself thinking over her words and wonders if she's trying to convince him or herself. Peeta finally drops the subject and shrugs.

"You want to go in?" He finally asks her a few minutes later as he extends his hand.

"Sure." Katniss takes his hands as they wade in the water but drops it as soon as they're waist deep. She lets the slight waves bring her down into a seated position where she lays her head back. When she looks up, she sees Peeta standing there frozen.

"Sit down," she softly commands. He looks at her with wide eyes and for a moment she doesn't understand why he's looking at her like that. "What's wrong?" She finally questions him.

"I don't know how to swim," he whispers hoping the other people nearby don't hear him.

"What?" She looks up at him wrinkling her forehead. "We had a mandatory swim class in high school and before that I believe in elementary school they offered classes to the students." Katniss thinks back briefly to the day Prim came home asking their parents if they could sign her up. Katniss had already learned by the age Prim was then because of her summer vacations with her father.

"I never learned," he continues to whisper. "I had an episode when they tried to teach me at five, and after my mother complained they never pushed the subject for me."

"Really?" She continues to look up to him now floating on her back moving her arms back and forth and kicking her legs.

"Yes." Katniss sits up abruptly and starts to walk closer to the shore. "Where are you going?" He stomps forcefully sending sprays of water up around them.

"Closer to the shore so you'll be more comfortable."

"You don't have to do that," he calls out after her.

"It's alright." Katniss takes a seat nearly on the shore allowing the small waves to lap over her legs. Peeta sits down next to her and gives her a small smile and she nods her head.

The pair sit by the shore silently observing the people swimming and playing, until the life guard blows his whistle and closes the lake for the day. It's nearly 8pm and her friends who had took turns going back and forth in the water, are drying off and putting on dry clothes.

"Have fun?" Johanna asks lifting an eyebrow and smirking.

"It was fine." She responds back evenly. Johanna starts smiling widely but Katniss turns her head to ignore her and search for her towel. She dries off and then braids her wet hair, letting the braid fall down her back.

"So I'm going to put everything in the car and then we can head to the bonfire. They're about to light it," Gale points in the distance at a giant pile of wood. "Are you coming Mellark?" He questions Peeta as he's putting his shirt back on.

"Um no. I need to head home actually. Thanks anyway." Katniss turns to him her face going pale and he reads her reaction. He walks closer to her and speaks low enough so only she can hear it. "I'll take you home if you want to go. It's not a problem." Katniss thinks for a second as she slides on her shorts and decides to take him up on his offer.

"I think I'm going to head home after all," she begins and her friends look up from putting their clothes on and of course Johanna is smirking again.

"Sure," Johanna replies winking at her.

When everything is put in the car Katniss grabs her cooler and bag and waves goodbye to her friends. Peeta leads her to his car and she puts her things in his trunk.

"Are you cold? You can put on the heated seats if you want," he offers.

"I'm okay, thank you." Peeta smiles and puts the key in the ignition.

"So where do you live?" Katniss gives him her address and he thinks a little while plotting out the directions and then backs out of the parking lot. The entire ride over to her house is a quiet one with Katniss staring at her hands and Peeta paying closer attention to the road than he's ever done in his entire driving record. They arrive and Peeta parks outside her house.

"Thanks for inviting me today. I had a really good time with you." Peeta tells her.

"I did too," she agrees. As she's unbuckles her seatbelt Peeta sighs audibly. Katniss turns her head and looks at him.

"Are you doing anything for July 4th?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"Would you like to come to the meadow with me and watch the fireworks?" Katniss pauses for a moment considering his request. She did enjoy her time with him today and she feels grateful for the buffer he created between her and her friends.

"Alright," she finally answers and he smiles.

"Great. I'll text you then." Peeta hops out the car and takes her bags out of his trunk and walks her to front door. "Good night Katniss."

"Good night Peeta," and she stares at him for a few seconds before opening her front door and disappearing inside. Peeta smiles to himself as he walks to his car and little does he know Katniss watches him from her window making sure he's safely in and drives away.

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**Thank you for all the feedback and support. Find me on Tumblr to chat and to read extras pertaining to this story and others lenai17.**


	5. Chapter 4

"So is it serious?" Katniss' mother begins over the dinner table.

"Is what serious?" Katniss replies pushing around her whole grain pasta.

"You and that Peeta fellow you've been hanging out with so much."

"He's just my friend Mom," Katniss looks down as she speaks and she can hear Prim trying to stifle a laugh. Her step father remains unchanged as he reads the paper and eats his dinner at the same time. "And it's only been a few times."

"Well that's more than I've seen you with any boy. You were always bringing over that ill-mannered Johanna and that spacey girl Annie."

"Stop it Mom, please." Her mother sighs audibly.

"I'm just checking up on you. Are you sure there's nothing going on?"

"Nothing at all," Katniss raises her eyebrows and her tone flat.

"Well that makes more sense anyhow. You don't seem like his type." Katniss' mother gets up from the table bringing her plate to the sink.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Katniss demands.

"Well you're not bubbly like the other girls," she comments. "I've been to the bakery enough times and I see the girls he smiles and laughs with."

"He does that to everyone," she counters not sure as to why she has to defend his behavior.

"You don't have to get jealous Katniss. You said it yourself that you're just friends. You'll find someone don't worry. You're pretty enough," she continues.

"Not pretty enough for him though," Prim interrupts laughing into her hand.

"Prim, don't tease your sister." She looks at Prim but has a hint of a smile on her face. Katniss knows that her mother is silently agreeing with her sister and it does nothing for the wave of anger and sadness that crashes over her.

Why does her mother need to bring up her friendship with Peeta and then try to turn it into something else? Why are so many people interested in that? Just the other day Johanna sent her a few teasing text messages about Peeta showing him her loaf and other sexual innuendos that made Katniss uncomfortable. She only saw Peeta as a friend and she assumed he looked at her the same way.

Katniss retires to her room soon after being forced through another disgusting dessert choice. When she reaches for her charging phone she sees a text message from Peeta.

_Just checking up on you and confirming me picking you up for Saturday._

Peeta had sent her a few text messages about July 4th and she felt he was worried about her ditching him again. She felt really bad about those other times but promised him this time and wasn't going to leave him hanging.

_I'm fine and I'll see you on Saturday._

After responding she sits on her bed with her notebook and begins to jot words down. Her mood had been off and on the last few days since the lake with her friends. She thought about what Peeta had said to her about her friends not considering her feelings and it made her realize something. Her friends were always the way they were joking with her, and for the most part she had been joking with them. It seemed within the last year as her new medication stopped working, she started to change.

Katniss withdrew from them but it wasn't clear if they pushed her away or if she went willingly. It was all too confusing for her whenever she thought about it recently so usually she'd try to ignore it. She knows eventually she'll need to talk with her friends about it all, but for right now it can wait.

When it is finally Saturday and early evening, Peeta comes to pick her up. He rings the doorbell and her mother invites him in and offers him a drink. Katniss finds them both in the living room chatting and her mother seems to be laughing and smiling more than usual.

"Why hello Katniss," she greets her in an overly saccharin tone. "I was just talking to your friend Peeta," she accentuates the word 'friend.' Katniss gives her a forced smile before waving at Peeta. He starts to get up and her mother speaks up again.

"You're not wearing that are you?" Her mother points at her outfit. She's wearing a pair of khaki shorts and an Old Navy T-shirt with this year's July 4th logo.

"Um yes," she responds wringing her hands.

"Don't you want to wear a dress, you know like Prim?" and just then Prim walks into the living room wearing a red and white sun dress with a thin blue sweater. She was asked to the meadow by Rory Hawthorne, Gale's younger brother.

"I'm fine," Katniss quietly responds with her face warming. She quickly turns around clutching her purse and Peeta follows behind her. He tells everyone good night and nearly has to run to keep up the pace with Katniss as she walks over to his car.

"Are you alright?" He calls to her when she reaches the car door. Peeta opens it with the remote and she sits down hastily burying her face in her hands. "Are you alright?" He repeats once he's in the car.

"I'm fine," she responds her voice muffled through her hands.

"Okay," he answers her and then starts the car, but barely taking his eyes off of her. He sighs and then puts the car in drive. They travel in silence and eventually Katniss sits up straight looking out the window.

"I'm sorry about my mother," she whispers to him. "She's under some impression that we were dating and not just friends."

"Oh," he responds with his face warming a bit.

"And plus she loves to embarrass me," but that was an understatement to what she really felt like her mother was actually doing. This was more than embarrassment, it was more like humiliation.

"Don't worry about it, honestly. I think you look great with what you have on." Katniss cheeks go warm again at the compliment. She wraps her arms around her torso and turns away from him trying desperately to lose herself in the scenery as they drive.

Peeta is quiet the rest of the ride and when he pulls up to the meadow, he wordlessly exits the car. Katniss follows suit and watches him as he pulls a blanket and a cooler from his trunk.

"I packed some snacks just in case you were hungry," he offers and she continues to hold herself as they begin to walk toward the grass. "Any particular place you want to set up?" He questions her and she shakes her head. Her words are still lost in her throat as she is still feeling embarrassed from her mother's behavior, and feeling something else from Peeta's compliment.

They finally find a spot where they settle in. It's still not dark enough to fully enjoy the fireworks so they instead sit by the other with Katniss playing with her fingers and Peeta fishing through his cooler for something.

"Hi Peeta!" A bubbly girl with long blonde curly hair calls out to Peeta. The young lady gets closer and Peeta's face lights up with recognition as he stands up to hug her. Katniss looks up and notices not only her hair but the fact she has a sundress on. Katniss quickly looks around and notices most of the girls at the meadow have some sort of dressy outfit on. Did she miss the memo or something?

"Katniss this is my friend Delly. Delly this is Katniss," Peeta introduces. Katniss stands up to shake her hand and give her a small smile.

"What brings you two here?" Delly requests.

"The fireworks of course," Peeta smiles at her.

"Are you two?" Delly begins and Peeta finishes the thought for her.

"We're just friends," he smiles tightly and Katniss pulls at her long braid. She sits back down as the two catch up and suddenly feels self-conscious.

Delly leaves the pair a few minutes later and Peeta settles back down on the blanket. He gives her an easy smile, and she gives a small one back; a little too forced for her liking. Before Katniss can settle back down another two girls come up to Peeta.

"Hey Peeta!" They both call. One has red hair and the delicate features of a fox, while the other has dark straight hair. Peeta stands up to introduce them as Amy, the red head, and Clove, the dark haired one. They both smile down at Katniss and hug Peeta when they leave him. Katniss begins to wonder how many girls he actually knows and why must they all insist to hug him in public.

They settle back down again and it's now dark enough for the show to begin. Peeta is relaxed and ready for the night sky to light up while Katniss is starting to feel uneasy as more people pass their blanket. Will there be more young ladies rushing to hug him and then look her over like she's some diseased animal?

Katniss is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't hear Peeta calling to her to alert her the show has started. When she realizes she apologizes and shoots her head up. Peeta observes her behavior and decides to ask her about it after the show. He surmises that it may help calm her down.

The show begins with loud booms and Katniss watches the colors and patterns. The last few years she'd come here with her friends but the most fun she'd had here was with her father when he would take her with his kids. For reasons unknown she starts thinking about him and as the patterns are created, she remembers more of the time she had with her father.

"Katniss," Peeta whispers close to her hair. She shakes her head out of thought and turns to look at him. He's closer to her than he's ever been and she starts to feel that uncomfortable feeling from earlier.

"Yes," she answers him her arms around her again.

"Are you alright? You're crying." Katniss looks down at her lap while she runs a hand across her face. She pulls it back and sees it's wet.

"I'm fine," she lies and turns away from him. Peeta sighs heavily before moving closer to her.

"You're not being honest with me," he speaks to her reaching out a hand tentatively and landing it on her forearm. "Are the noises scaring you?" Katniss shakes her head but doesn't speak. Peeta continues observing her completely missing out on the fireworks as he tries to figure out what's going on with her.

"You're missing the show," she finally speaks to him.

"I'm more worried about you than the show," he replies.

"I'm fine," she repeats but another tear falls down her cheek. She has just noticed a small family close to them on their blanket. The kids are excitedly jumping and pointing at the sky. Why is that affecting her?

"Katniss?" He whispers to her again now moving his hand to rest on her lower back. She nearly jumps off the blanket when she feels it there. "I'm sorry!" He apologizes but Katniss is standing up on the blanket.

"Can you take me home?" Suddenly she doesn't want to be here anymore. Everything all at once is crashing in on her; the girls, the families, the intense feeling of loneliness all of a sudden.

"Oh okay," he stutters. Katniss hates herself for interrupting the night for Peeta, but she needs to get out of there. Tears are steadily running down her cheeks and she's not sure why and thinking about Peeta's hands on her doesn't help. She knows he was just being a concerned friend but she's not used to that sort of affection from anyone.

Peeta nearly runs after her to keep her pace juggling the blanket and cooler in one hand. Katniss is leaning against his car with her head down; her arms still wrapped around her. Peeta quickly puts the items in the trunk after letting her inside. Once he sits he turns to her.

"Katniss talk to me. What happened back there?" She doesn't speak and the tears just continue to run down her face. "I'm really concerned for you. I'm sorry about before, but I was just trying to comfort you. I swear I wasn't trying anything."

Katniss continues to look down at her feet and the tears flow freely. She doesn't respond to him and he nearly pulls his hair out trying to get her to talk. They sit there in the meadow parking lot and Peeta continues to stare at her as she softly cries.

Finally when he notices the other patrons leaving, he starts the car and backs out his spot, and heads back to Katniss' house. Half way there she stops crying but doesn't speak to him. Peeta keeps glancing back toward her to see her expression but it's just blank. She's not feeling anything and at this point she just wants to curl up in her bed and sleep.

When Peeta finally arrives back at her house, he shuts off the car and turns to her. Her arms are still squeezing herself tight but her expression hasn't changed.

"Katniss you know you can come to me about anything. I'll listen to whatever is going on in your head. We are friends right?" Katniss listens to him but doesn't move her body. She doesn't understand why he would still want to be her friend after tonight. Katniss has just dragged him from a really nice fireworks show and has cried and not spoken to him for most of the night.

"Thank you for bringing me home," she finally speaks to him. She gets out of his car, not even looking at him as she does, and walks to her front steps. Peeta is confused as he sits in the car about her but he knows he wants to do whatever he can to reach her.

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**So it seems we're getting deeper into Katniss' head. Thank you for staying with me so far. Feedback is encouraged and welcomed! Find me on tumblr at lenai17.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Thank you all so much for all of the recent love! **

**Trigger Warning: Self Harm**

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Katniss wakes up disorientated in her bed, the blanket wrapped tightly around her. There's a stinging pain coming from somewhere. Her head is cloudy and she's not sure what time it is. The sun peeking through her curtains tells her it's morning.

Last night she was with Peeta at the meadow, she remembers. She cried about something, and he took her home. What happened last night that spurred those events? She touches her face and she feels it; her arm is throbbing. It's stinging and she looks over at it. Why is it wrapped in gauze?

She remembers coming to her room crying, after Peeta dropped her off. Some time later she went downstairs to get water and that's when she heard her sister and mother talking about her.

_"You were right mom about everything. All the girls were dressed up and Katniss just looked so out of place. You wouldn't believe how many girls came up to hug Peeta, and right in front of her! I almost felt bad for her, but honestly you told her she should change her clothes. It was pretty much her own fault." They both laugh. _

_She is so enraged that she storms up the stairs, her braid swinging violently behind her. Katniss is in her room now yelling and pulling at her braid; she needs a release from this pain they're putting her through. Her heart is beating out of her chest and her skin feels like it can peel right off. Peel off? She thinks about that and scratches at her skin. One of her nails catches it just right and leaves an angry red welt. She continues creating more red lines and one draws a tiny bit of blood. That felt good. Why did that feel good? She ignores it and takes her nail to the welt that is bleeding, attempting to draw more from the tiny wound. _

_It grows and she feels something; more good feelings. She's fascinated by how this pain she is creating somehow eases the pain in her chest. Katniss keeps at it, dragging the small cut from her wrist to her mid forearm. It's bleeding but just a little and she keeps picking at it, but it's not opening fast enough for her. The relief is waning and then she tells herself; 'something sharper.' _

_Katniss is in the bathroom now searching through the medicine cabinet for something. Tweezers? Not sharp enough. Nail file? Too blunt. Ah, her step father's straight razors. She takes one out the box and sits on top of the toilet with it. She studies its sharp edges and presses a finger to it experimentally. When she draws blood she knows it's the right tool._

_Katniss presses the blade to her forearm and drags it slightly. She tells herself, 'not too deep,' and she manages a tiny cut. 'Cut,cut,' she drags it in a short tight line repeatedly, creating red lines up her arm. There's that rush again. She finds it after every cut is complete. _

_It's almost a design, she observes on her skin as she marks herself with the small cuts. They are all welling up with blood and as each one grows, her anxiety lessens. She's releasing her rage against her family with each small cut. Katniss is in control now._

Katniss stares at her arm and pulls back the gauze and sees the red welts are cleaned and covered with ointment. She remembers rinsing her arm with both water and alcohol. The burn brought her back to reality as she dabbed her arm with dry tissue and then applied Vitamin A and D ointment. How was she going to cover this up? Luckily there was gauze under the sink to use to wrap up her arm. She did and then somehow put herself to bed.

"Did this really help?" She whispers to herself. Katniss is unsure but she feels something new now; shame. She turns back over, covers herself and goes back to bed.

It's late afternoon by the time she wakes up again. Her arm is still throbbing so she throws on a sweatshirt over her night clothes. When she gets downstairs she hears nothing. On the refrigerator her mother left her a note.

_You were asleep so we went to the lake for some family time. _

"That's it?" She questions aloud. No, 'We'll see you later,' or 'Call my cell when you wake up?' Katniss has felt for a long time that they rather have one daughter anyhow, and it wasn't her.

"Some family time," she mumbles trying to fight the tears in her eyes.

She finds some fruit and cheese and takes that with a bottle of water up to her room. Her phone is ringing as she approaches it and sees that Peeta is calling her. She can't face him right now because she doesn't know what to say to him. Her mind is still processing last night and the fact that she had some emotional breakdown that made her so vulnerable she couldn't deal with the usual mistreatment from her mother and sister. She hurt herself last night and it tugs at her heart when she thinks about it. Unfortunately this wouldn't be the last time she'd do this to herself.

A week elapses before Katniss contacts Peeta and three more times that she's cut herself over something her mother or sister has said or done to her. One night during dinner her mother commented about her hair looking greasy and that she needed to take better care of herself; 'cut, cut.' Prim threw a tantrum over Katniss not finishing a particular disgusting dessert she made, and her mother yelled at her; 'cut,cut.' Finally she overheard her mother telling Prim that she was glad at least one of her daughters looked like her. She continued telling her that if she hadn't witnessed Katniss come out with the dark hair she had, she'd think she was switched at birth; 'cut, cut.'

After the last episode, Katniss is out of the house and in her car driving to the bakery. She found a cotton long sleeved tunic to put on to hopefully hide the fact her left arm is wrapped in gauze. She sent Peeta a simple text earlier;

_Meet me outside in 15 minutes._

When she arrives she spots him out front holding a loaf of bread.

"I ran outside as soon as I saw the text message," he tells her as she walks up to him.

"I see," she smiles at him. Why is she smiling? Is it because not less than a half hour ago she was slicing into her arm at her mother's remarks? She has that usual giddy feeling, as she's still reeling from the euphoria of the cuts.

"Are you alright?" He asks her his eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm fine Peeta. I just wanted to come by to apologize for last week," she begins.

"You don't have to apologize. I should be the one doing that. I was pushing you and I should have just been patient." Katniss walks closer to him and puts a hand on his forearm. Peeta looks down at her hand and then back up at her.

"I appreciate that you cared enough to try to comfort me." Katniss smiles again and an easy one crosses his face.

"So we're good?" Peeta says.

"We're good." The pair stand there staring at one another and Peeta can't help but study her smile. He hasn't seen her like this since some time in high school. He wants to question it, but he shrugs it off. He thinks that maybe she _is_ feeling better.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" He finally asks her when his smile starts to fade.

"I'm free," she responds.

"Do you maybe want to go to the meadow again?"

"Sure."

Katniss follows Peeta inside of the bakery and takes a seat at a small table with two chairs. Peeta brings her a cheese bun and bottle of water and he goes back to finish up his work. She sits there picking at her cheese bun and watching Peeta handle the last string of customers. Her arm is still stinging but somehow it doesn't matter as she's finally found a way to get through this particularly difficult bought of depression. She pushes away the fact that she's harming herself because she feels the end result is so much better than what she was dealing with before.

Peeta finally handles the last customer, puts away his prep work, and cleans up the remainder of the bakery before walking out with Katniss and locking up the place. He decides to leave his car at the bakery and take Katniss' to the meadow.

There are a few couples scattered out along the meadow all staring up at the sky. Katniss takes an old blanket out of her trunk and brings it to lie on the ground of the meadow. She sits next to him, her injured arm away from him and leans back to look up at the sky.

"It's beautiful out tonight," Peeta begins, looking up at the sky. Katniss nods her head and continues to look up. "Can I ask you something?" Peeta requests a few moments later.

"Sure."

"What happened last week? Why were you crying so much?" Katniss turns her head and studies his profile. She watches his long blonde eyelashes on his eyelids as they blink and notices the freckles on his nose. His lips curve into a peak as he watches the night sky.

"I think I'm just adjusting to life after high school," she begins. "Everything is different and I guess I was having a hard time at first." Katniss isn't telling a lie per say, but it's not the whole truth either.

"And you're not having a hard time anymore?" He questions, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Not really," she shakes her head. "I think I just needed a week to myself to handle things." She responds thoughtfully.

"And that's it?" He turns over to face her.

"That's it," she resigns. Somehow Peeta doesn't believe her.

The pair lay there watching the sky for a long while until Peeta starts to yawn.

" I think I need to head home," he announces. "Rye has a doctor's appointment in the morning and I have to open for him."

"Sure," Katniss nods her head and gets up from the blanket. They both head back to her car where she puts the blanket back in the trunk and then hops into the driver side and starts the car. When they arrive back at the bakery Peeta turns to her.

"I'm glad you're okay and that I got to see you tonight."

"Me too," she responds with a small smile.

"I'll text you later alright. Have a good night." Peeta exits the car and waves to her as she backs her car out of the parking lot. As soon as Katniss is away from Peeta she finally breaths. The euphoric feeling from earlier is waning and she needs to get home and into bed. The only downside she allows herself to recognize is the guilt and shame she experiences a few hours afterward.

When she gets in the house everyone is asleep so she heads right upstairs and into her bedroom. Her heart is starting to race and the bad feelings from earlier are washing over her. She undresses quickly and gets into her bed wrapping her body in her blanket. She peeks at the fresh scars on her arm and tears prick her eyes. What is she doing to herself? It's the question she asks herself every night after she's done this, but she always seems to forget the answer when she has the blade in her hand again. The end result is worth this pain, she tells herself. How long will she be able to make herself believe this?

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**Thank you for reading! Feedback is greatly appreciated. Find me on tumblr at anais117-fanfic!**


	7. Chapter 6

It's been nearly two weeks since Katniss has begun cutting and it's been hard on her trying to hide it from those around her. Her mother and sister don't really notice as she always dressed in long sleeves in the house due to the blasting air conditioning requested by her stepfather. When Johanna and Annie come over they brush it off as well and she's safe until they ask her out to an outdoor café.

Katniss spends nearly an hour trying on different tunic tops, some she had and some new ones she picked up, trying to look as casual as possible to be wearing something long sleeved in this hot July weather. She settles on a light blue colored one to go with a pair of white capris. She can't exactly wear shorter shorts because it would look odd and warrant her friends to suggest she take it off or change into something that matches her shorts.

It gives her a headache trying to figure everything out and she nearly misses the text message from Johanna to meet her outside her house. Katniss finally leaves with a small bag and tells her family goodbye even though they don't really notice her leaving.

"Hey girl," Johanna calls out when she sits in the back of her car. She waves at her friends and they drive off. When they arrive they come across some former classmates who are also here hanging out with their friends. They find a nice table next to the grill and Katniss lowers her head silently wishing they could have found a cooler spot. With the hot air wafting in their direction she wants to roll her sleeves up. Even one would do the trick but it would look odd.

"So how is everything going?" Annie begins toward Katniss.

"Same as always I guess." Katniss is back to her regular quiet moods as her euphoria from her latest cuts ended last night.

"The same?" Johanna cuts in. "Didn't you text me the other day that you've been talking to Peeta a little bit more? What's going on with you two?"

"The same. Just hanging out and stuff." Katniss answers lowering her head to play with the edge of her tunic sleeve. Just then a gust of hot air comes their way and the girls let out an audible sigh.

"Aren't you really hot in that?" Annie finally asks the question that Katniss has been dreading since she left her house.

"No I'm fine," Katniss smiles nervously.

"Come to think of it, you are really covered up. What are you hiding?" Johanna asks leaning over the table toward Katniss. Without warning she pulls at the neckline of the shirt and Katniss face goes white.

"Nothing, nothing," she exclaims backing up.

"I knew it!" Johanna nearly yells. "Hickies!" And her and Annie burst out in a fit of giggles.

"You don't want us to see all those hickies Peeta has been giving you!" Katniss laughs nervously before sitting back down.

'Hickies,' she thinks to herself. That's exactly what's she's hiding under these long sleeves. Not some terrible razor cuts that are stinging in this heat. When she starts to blush, Annie and Johanna look at one another with a knowing smirk.

"It's okay Katniss," Annie responds. "We've all been there. It's too bad he gave them to you in this terrible weather and you have to cover up." Katniss looks up and nods her head quickly hoping they change the subject. She's rather them think that then to know what's actually being covered by her shirt.

Thankfully they change the subject to college related topics and Katniss takes a breath. The server comes and takes their orders and comes back in record timing with their burgers, fries, and ice teas.

"So when do you register?" Annie asks as she bites into her burger.

"The beginning of August and then some sort of freshman orientation." Katniss responds.

"I really wish you were going away with either of us. But I guess since you have Peeta now, it won't be so bad." Annie smiles at the mention of Peeta and Katniss wonders if them assuming she's with Peeta will change how they are with her now that they all have that in common. Katniss doesn't have the heart to tell them she and Peeta are just friends and will most likely stay that way.

As the afternoon drags on all girls get some sort of text from their male counterparts. Both Annie and Johanna are going to the movies tonight and invite Katniss to come along with Peeta, but she declines.

"I'm actually going roller skating with him tonight," she responds to their offer as she dips a fry in ketchup. "One of his friends is having a party there so he asked me a few days ago." At the time Katniss was feeling really awful and had been in bed all day. Lucky for her he texted her instead of calling her because if he heard her voice he'd be worried. She agreed hoping to feel better by today.

"Aww, that's so cute," Johanna teases. "Make sure you hold hands and get someone to take a picture." Katniss throws her balled up napkin at Johanna but manages a small smile. For a moment she felt like the old times she had with them, but she knows it will never be the same. After they leave for school they'll be different. Katniss knows with all the cutting she's doing and whatever transpires with Peeta will change her as well. For a moment she wishes this afternoon wouldn't end.

Finally the girls pay their tab and head back to Johanna's car. She drops off Katniss and promises to text her later. Katniss heads up to her room to shower and change for Peeta who will be picking her up in a few hours.

As the water falls down her body she studies her arm looking at the fresh and old cuts. Last night Prim had teased her about Peeta and when she blurted out that they were going roller skating tonight, her mother just scoffed behind her newspaper. Katniss didn't understand her mother's behavior especially when she was the one pushing for her to get a boyfriend. Peeta isn't that toward her, but he's a new friend for her to hang out with that's not like her girlfriends that her mother doesn't seem to like.

When Katniss dragged the razor along her arm last night it didn't hurt her at all. Even when she poured the alcohol it did nothing. She did feel the euphoric effects of the aftermath and sent Peeta a text to see if he wanted to meet somewhere. Unfortunately he had an early day today to be off tonight for the party. Katniss stayed home instead writing and somehow finished the notebook she had started at the beginning of the summer. There were so many mismatched words in them and she vowed to make something out of it later.

Her mood is okay today and she hopes she can fake that happiness she had a week ago when she hung out with Peeta at the meadow. She believes he deserves to see her happy so he doesn't worry about her. Katniss doesn't think she deserves to be worried about, so she rather have people angry at her, indifferent, or just plain out the loop thinking she's alright.

Katniss phone dings as she paints her last toenail and she sees it's Peeta. She puts on a long sleeved cotton dress she wore when Spring started at a writing competition she had placed in at school. She also put some shorts underneath it just in case she fell so there wouldn't be any up the skirt embarrassing underwear shots.

"You look lovely," Peeta remarks when she slides into the front seat of his car. Her lips turn up slightly and she pulls at her braid nervously.

"Thank you. I hope I'm not too overdressed."

"You're not," he smiles and then puts the car in drive. Katniss sits there quietly as Peeta drives along. She wants to make small talk with him so he doesn't think she's withdrawn into herself again, but her throat is dry.

"How's the bakery?" She finally forces, looking at her hands while her legs shakes a little.

"Going well. The paperwork was finalized and I'm officially a part owner of the bakery."

"That's great!" She answers a little too excitedly and she looks away.

"Thanks," Peeta smiles a bit as he answers but then turns around to Katniss who is now pulling at her sleeves. "Are you alright?" Goodness she wishes it weren't so obvious.

"Just nervous. I've never met your friends."

"Oh don't be. They're cool and it'll only be a few of them. Delly you've met, and her boyfriend Thom. Clove and Amy also you've met, and their boyfriends Cato and Sean. There also may be Delly's cousin Glimmer and her boyfriend Marvel."

"That's a lot," Katniss offers with a low voice. "And everyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend," she laments. "Is that why you asked me to go with you? So you're not the," Katniss counts on her fingers, "9th wheel?"

Peeta laughs at her statement and at the red light answers her.

"Maybe. But I like spending time with you and they never cared that I was the extra wheel," he responds thoughtfully looking over at her. His eyes looks so incredibly blue and intense that she has to look away.

When they finally arrive at the roller rink they park and head into the building to the section for private parties. There's a few tables and then a special entrance into the roller rink that's already filled with other patrons. It seems all eight people are already there and they turn to Peeta when they catch sight of him.

"Peeta you made it!" Delly squeals walking over to hug him and surprisingly Katniss. "And Katniss you're here with him." Her mouth in formed into a large grin and her long blonde curls are all over the place as she bounces before them. Katniss feels nauseous just at all of her movement.

"Let me introduce you to everyone," Delly offers, taking Katniss' hand and leading her to the group. She goes around naming everyone and pointing and they all smile and wave. For the first time Katniss realizes those girls who hugged Peeta in the meadow were just his friends and they were all naturally as bubbly as Delly. She hadn't been around many people with such high energy as Johanna was "protesting" school by being to herself, and Annie was just in her own world.

The group settle at the table and Peeta goes off with the guys to get drinks for the girls.

"So how did you meet Peeta?" Amy begins, her red hair also in a braid over her shoulder.

"At the promenade at the lake just after school ended. I knew of him in high school but we didn't talk until then." Amy nods her head smiling.

"You're pretty much the only girl he's introduced to his friends," Clove begins.

"We're not dating," Katniss informs them now pulling at her braid.

"We know," Delly interrupts, "But we won't hold that against you," she smirks and bumps her with an affectionate elbow to her arm.

"He's pretty much been the organizer of our group and he's always busy making sure we're all okay. Peeta dated girls in high school but never long enough for us to meet them. He hasn't had a new friend besides us in a while." Delly explains.

"Well except me," Glimmer raises her hand.

"You're family, you don't count," Delly teases.

"Maybe but I'm a year older than you guys and just started hanging with you and getting to know the group." Glimmer teases back pushing her long blonde curls behind her ears. Katniss determines that hair must be genetic. "And that's only been a year," she finally adds.

The girls start laughing and Katniss smiles at them. She likes the actual girl talk they're all having that doesn't include graphic descriptions of what happens when they are alone with their boyfriends.

They all continue chatting and Katniss finds out that Delly and Glimmer were both cheerleaders while they were in high school; somehow Katniss completely missed that detail having never gone to anything school spirit related. Both Clove and Amy played soccer and softball. While they were all popular they were also very nice. Katniss had a really skewed impression on how some popular kids behaved because this group seemed very welcoming.

The guys return with drinks and the food for the party they're having. It's mostly roller rink food of hotdogs, burgers, fries, and soft drinks. They're celebrating Delly's birthday as well as her goodbye party as she leavings early for school in a week. She wouldn't have time to get together next week and didn't want a big party at her house with her family.

When the food is eaten and the guys laughing about their own memories about school, they decide to get their skates and start the fun part of the party. All the guys except Peeta were on the hockey team so they seemed to be naturals roller blading around the rink. They held on to their girlfriends and every time they passed Katniss and Peeta they squealed.

Both Katniss and Peeta glided slowly around the rink as Katniss hadn't rollerbladed for years and Peeta wasn't very good. He stopped short a few times leaning on the rail and Katniss had to cover her mouth a few times to keep from laughing at the looks he kept giving when he thought he was going to fall.

"I really thought you be better at this," she admits when he grabs a hold of her arm. She winces a little because it's her left cut arm, but she pushes that face away quickly so Peeta doesn't notice.

"I'm a wrestler," he remarks. "Not a skater." When they gone around a few more times Peeta nearly crawls to his seat and takes off the blades. Katniss sits next to him carefully taking off hers and then looking up at him. He's smiling at her and that intense look is in his eyes again.

"Thanks for coming with me. Maybe I did have a complex of being the extra wheel." Peeta gently extends his hand and it lands on hers and he squeezes it. She ducks her head down and observes his large hand over hers. It's impossibly warm and she wonders if he's always this warm.

At the end of the night, and after eating some of the mini cheesbuns Peeta brought to the party, Katniss bids farewell to Peeta's friends and they all promise to text Peeta for the next get together. She even takes the numbers down of all the girls and assures them she'll text them over the summer to possibly go to the lake or something similar. When they get in the car it's silent between the two as Katniss lets the night settle in. She really had fun with his friends and with Peeta. She wonders how far this friendship could actually go with him as he does seem very sincere about spending time with her.

Katniss is so lost in thought she doesn't realize he's in front of her house now and has turned off the engine.

"You're home," he whispers, patting her arm to bring her back to him.

"Oh," she responds. "A little lost," she answers wringing her hands. She turns to Peeta and he gives her a soft smile.

"I always have so much fun with you Katniss. It got me thinking the other day."

"About what?" Katniss swallows thickly as she continues to look at him.

"I thought about why I enjoy hanging out with you so much and I came to a conclusion."

"What?" She asks him softly feeling her palm sweat at the anticipation of his answer.

"That I like you. I like you a lot Katniss."

"Oh," she replies. "Why?" Peeta breaths out and shakes his head.

"You're amazing," he responds. "Everything about you and whenever I'm with you I feel different." Katniss is speechless at his words and it makes her feel guilty that he likes her. She's trying to be nice to him because he deserves nice. He doesn't deserve the rest of her which he'd be getting if they were together.

"I didn't know," she finally responds to him looking down at her lap. Peeta inches over and takes her hand.

"Just think about it okay?" He requests squeezing her hand again.

"Okay," her voice so low. Peeta lets her hand go and she looks up and smiles at him before opening the car door. "Good night Peeta," she finally says to him.

"Good night." He answers back. "I'll text you alright."

With that she closes the door and walks across the lawn and to her front door. She looks back and waves at him and he drives off as soon as she walks into the house. Katniss is up in her room undressing before she realizes it and finds herself back under the covers. How will she ever deal with this new revelation?

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**Thank you all for the feedback so far! This chapter was a bit of a filler chapter to help the plot along. It has been interesting looking into Katniss' head and she goes through her depression and cutting. I have some extras from some previous chapters that you can check out on my main tumblr page at lenai17, and my new writing page anais117-fanfic. Join me there for some fun. Thanks again!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Thank you for all the recent feedback! I read every comment and it makes my heart soar that you guys like my story. **

**Trigger Warning: (I don't want to give it away, but it's a bit of a escalation of what Katniss has already been doing.)**

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It's nearly a week before Katniss responds to the texts that Peeta has sent her after the night he confessed that he had feelings for her. She thinks about what he said to her repeatedly and it scares her. The responsibility of a relationship more than a friendship is a lot for her to handle and she doesn't know how to go about even starting one.

Katniss responded the night before to his latest text with a simple,

_I'm not mad at you. I just need some time to think about what you said. This is all new to me._

Peeta responded,

_Alright. I'll be here when you're ready._

Katniss rereads that text message and then lays her phone on her side table. She lays her arms in her lap taking care to shield her left one which is still wrapped in gauze from the night before. Her euphoria allowed her to respond to Peeta last night but instead of asking to see him, she called her friends.

Annie and Johanna arrive at her house just after noon and they gather in her room with some snacks and music. They're both finishing up their last minutes plans before having to leave in two weeks for school. They chat about their expectations of the classes they picked and what they expect to experience with the new people they'll meet.

"Katniss, you seem more quiet than usual? What's up?" Annie questions as she looks through Katniss' iPod.

"Tired I guess. I start training for my job the same week I register so I'm trying to figure out how I'll manage." Katniss responds.

"It shouldn't be too bad," Johanna answers popping a few grapes in her mouth. "How can you even be tired, you sleep an awful lot?" The question that's been on everyone's mind it seems from her own family and now her friends. Katniss smiles nervously at her and pulls at her sleeves.

"I haven't been feeling like myself I guess," she admits to them looking down. Annie looks up from the iPod and Johanna continues to eat grapes.

"What's wrong?" Annie questions.

"Don't really know. Between school ending and beginning, and my family…" Katniss trails off.

"Your family?" Johanna begins. "What's wrong with them?"

"I guess my mom's a bit hard on me, and my step dad ignores me. Prim, she's just, Prim."

"Well at least you have them," Johanna argues. "My mom doesn't care what I do and I don't even know my father. My brothers; you guys know they're assholes."

"I know that," Katniss defends, wrapping her arms around herself while Annie looks on.

"Well then you should be happy then. You live in a nice house, and while your parents aren't ideal, they take care of you. Prim won't always be bratty, she's just going through puberty."

"That doesn't help with how I feel," Katniss resigns wringing her hands.

"So is this why you've been moody all year long? I thought you were just being emo because of high school. I used to be like that, but I got over that as soon as I graduated."

"I can't just get over how I feel. I've been on medication for years now for it all." Katniss confesses and she feels anger rising but keeps her head low. She doesn't want to fight with Johanna or anyone for that matter.

"You're on medication?" Annie blurts out putting down the iPod abruptly.

"Yes. Anti-depressants."

"Oh. I'm sorry Katniss. I didn't know," and she crawls over to pull Katniss in a hug. It feels strangely like pity and she doesn't like that. She accepts the hug but pulls away prematurely. Johanna stares at the two and shakes her head.

"That's probably what's wrong. They tried sticking me on medication after I told my mother about what one of her boyfriends did to me but I refused. All it does it dull your feelings and make you worse." Johanna explains.

"It helped me at first," Katniss counters. "I'm just having a rough spot now."

"Well suit yourself." Johanna goes back to the grapes and Annie stays next to Katniss giving her sympathetic smiles that are slowly driving her crazy.

After her friends leaves she starts to think about what Johanna said. Could the medication have made her worse than what she would have been without it? She remembers the crippling sadness she had before and the medication seemed to help alleviate it for a while. Now that she switched medication after that last one failed, she's getting new symptoms. Katniss never wanted to harm herself before and now she finds herself thinking about it more often than not.

All that thinking puts Katniss in a bad place and she finds herself rushing to the bathroom with her step-father's razor again. Her cuts from last night are still fresh and raw, but she manages to cut around them creating a larger mess of red swollen lines. She nearly empties the bottle of alcohol on her arm and then applies ointment before wrapping it carefully in gauze.

On her way back to her room she passes by Prim who's standing against the wall with an unreadable look on her face but she ignores it. She doesn't have time for whatever tantrum Prim is about to throw.

Katniss is starting to experience that unique feeling again so she texts Peeta and he agrees to meet her at the promenade. She changes her shirt and hurries out the house and into her car. A smile is across her face as she allows herself to think about seeing Peeta. All she can imagine is what will happen now that she knows he has feelings for her. Will it be weird or will it be exciting? If this were another day and she hadn't cut, she would be an anxious wreck, but she isn't experiencing those feelings now.

When she finally arrives at the promenade, Peeta is leaning over the railing staring at the lake. She approaches him quietly and he doesn't notice her until she's mere feet away.

"Hello," she whispers and he turns around fully.

"Hey Katniss, how are you?" He gives her a small smile and she stops a few feet away from him.

"I'm fine." She replies and he nods at her. "I'm sorry I avoided you for so long."

"It's alright. I was thinking, maybe I came on too strong?" He offers lifting his eyebrows.

"You were fine. I was just baffled I guess."

"Why?" He asks her and Katniss looks down at her hands and twiddles her thumbs together.

"No one has ever been interested in me," she replies a few moments later.

"Really? I find that hard to believe."

"Why is that?" Katniss looks up to him.

"Because just look at you. You're unique, smart, and your writing is amazing," he begins and Katniss shakes her head.

"How are you sure of those things?" She wonders aloud.

"Well when they posted everyone's rank at school I saw you were in the top 10% and I read the short stories and poems you submitted for those competitions you entered."

"You read those?" Katniss wraps her arms around her and her cheeks tint pink.

"I was in similar competitions and I would check everyone's work out. You've seen my stuff too haven't you?" Peeta stares at her and her cheeks get even darker.

"I've seen yours because they were all over the school," she covers her mouth as she giggles and Peeta catches himself laughing as well.

"Why do you think I'm unique though?" She interrupts their laughing. "I blended in the background so well even Johanna referred to me as being 'emo'."

"You weren't emo," Peeta responds to her closing the space between them. He places his hand on her arm and she looks up to him. "I thought you were unique because you didn't conform into something that most other girls did. You were your own self being intelligent, artistic, and independent. I admired those things about you." Peeta continues to look at Katniss while giving her a soft smile.

" I didn't think anyone noticed and I honestly didn't try to be those things. I liked being busy with school and the side effect was doing well in my classes. I loved to write because it allowed me to escape into a world I created. And being independent? I didn't think I was. I was just doing what was necessary."

"That's amazing." Peeta smiles at her and she finds herself suppressing a smile herself.

"No," she finally gives in shaking her head and looking down.

"Well it is and I think you are amazing too." Peeta closes the space even closer and gently places his hands on her cheek. Katniss feels warmth spread from where his fingers touch her face and she looks into his blue eyes which are glistening in the light of the moon hovering over the lake. After a few moments she shies away from his hand and moves away from him. Peeta's hand drops to his side and his smile falls a little.

"I guess that's something I'll have to get used to," she finally responds to his compliment and his smile builds again. Katniss doesn't know what it is about this moment whether it's her post cut buzz or the fact that she may actually like Peeta too, but she feels a magnetic pull that has her closing the space between them again.

She looks up into his eyes, him down at hers, and it's blue and gray crashing into one another. With her inching upwards and him inching downward their lips meet in a chaste kiss. Peeta's lips are warm and soft and hers are a little dry and chilled from the night air but neither mind. He smiles at her and their lips meet again this time in a longer caress.

Katniss pins her arms between then while Peeta wraps his around her into an embrace. They lose track of time as their lips continue to meet in these sweet kisses. Peeta finds one of his hands pulling gently at the strands of her braid while one of her fingers trace patterns onto his chest.

When the two finally pull away their lips are swollen and their cheeks flush. Peeta's wristwatch beeps continually moments later, signally that it's midnight. Katniss smiles to herself as she looks down at her feet and hugs her torso, her long sleeved light sweater flopping in the breeze. She bits her lips when she looks up and sees Peeta studying her.

"Well it's getting late," Peeta begins. "I have an early start tomorrow. Maybe you can come by in the afternoon?"

"Sure," she responds finding it hard to suppress the smile spreading across her face.

Peeta takes her hand and they walk slowly to their cars and before they part ways, they chastely kiss one last time. They each wave at the other as they drive out of the parking lot and turn the opposite way to their prospective homes.

Katniss is still smiling when she gets home and is surprised when she sees the light on in the kitchen. She checks her phone and sees it nearly 12:30am and decides to see who is up. She is met by her entire family sitting at the table.

"What are you smiling about?" Her mother barks and the joy of what she just experienced falls from her face.

"I had a great night?" She answers not sure of it as she notices the looks on Prim and her step father's face along with her mother's twisted expression. She takes a seat at the other end of the table and looks at everyone.

"Let's get right to this," her mother begins. "Prim told us something incredibly unbelievable that it took me some time to believe her. She told me she saw you cutting yourself. Can you explain that to me?" Her mother's voice is high and Katniss immediately turns white in her seat and feels the tell-tale hairy feeling in her chest when she begins to feel anxious.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Katniss whispers and her mother shakes her head. Prim is looking down at the table now and is visibly shaking. Her father places an arm around her but she doesn't stop her movements.

"Then what is this?" Her mother yells as she throws a balled up sock at her. Katniss already knows what this is. She would wrap the razor in tissue and then place it in a sock in her drawer so if any would come across it, it would just look like a pair of socks.

"Socks," she whispers lowering her head. She can feel herself becoming nauseous and her own self beginning to shake.

"Bullshit Katniss," her mother screeches and crosses the table in two strides. She yanks Katniss' left arm towards her and pushes the sleeve up roughly. Her mother's eyes flash when she sees the gauze and she rips it off violently, exposing her red marked skin. "What the hell is this?" She holds up her arms and Prim begins to cry. At that, her father takes her out of the room and their mother rounds on Katniss again.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Her mother seethes. Katniss closes her eyes at the harsh language she uses. Her mother may have said cruel things but she has never cursed at Katniss like this. "Why are you doing this to yourself Katniss? And why are you doing this to us?"

"I don't know," Katniss replies fat tears rolling down her face and her mother begins to pace the room.

"You don't know?" She demands.

"I'm depressed," she stutters and her mother nearly flies towards her.

"About what? You have EVERYTHING!" She yells at her and Katniss jumps. "You have a perfect life with good parents that deal with all the crap you been giving them the last few years and even a little sister who been nothing but great towards you and now you repay us with this? Do you even know what Prim looked like when I found her in the hall? She was white as a ghost shaking. I had to wrap her in a blanket and nearly rock her like a baby to get her to talk."

"I'm sorry," Katniss mutters tears still falling down her face.

"You're not sorry and you're an ungrateful little bitch!" Katniss face shoots up and she sees the snarl on her mother's face as she speaks to her. "I should have made your father take you when we got divorced so I wouldn't have to deal with the mistake that ruined our relationship in the first place." Katniss stomach drops at that revelation by her mother and she sits there as she flies upstairs to join her husband and daughter.

Her mother's words rattle around her head and she can't will herself to stop crying. It's just all too much for her to handle. She finally knows the truth now why she was sad for all those years. Her mother really didn't want her and it wasn't an illusion she thought up over the years. She ruined her parents life and now she's ruining her mother's second life.

Katniss grabs the sock and races to the bathroom and closes the door. She sits on the toilet seat rocking back and forth mumbling to herself.

"I'm a mistake, a mistake," and her hands move without her even looking. With one quick maneuver the blade is out and without hesitation she presses it down and drags it along her wrist.

The red fluid rushes out and she hears the drops on the floor and all at once she feels that euphoric feeling mixed with a feeling of falling asleep.

"I'm gone," she whispers. "I'm gone," and the room turns black.

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**I'm sorry! I had to take it there but I hope you stay with me to find out what happens next!**

**Thank you for reading and please leave feedback to tell me what you thought of this chapter!**

**Find me on tumblr at lenai17 (main page), anais117-ff (writing page)**


	9. Chapter 8

**I didn't want to make you guys wait too long! Thank you for all the wonderful feedback on the last chapter. It was challenging to write about that subject especially when Katniss had just had a good night. **

**Thank you again and enjoy!**

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Peeta turns in the opposite direction of Katniss and when he looks up into his rearview mirror to see her car drive away from his, he smiles. He can't believe he finally kissed the girl he had been interested in since middle school. Daydreams of holding her hand in public and sneaking kisses at the bakery when she visits tomorrow leave him with good feelings warming throughout his body.

Peeta drives along thinking about the future he plans to have with Katniss completely allowing himself to fantasize about the unknown. When he leaned down to kiss her lips he felt a tingling sensation spread throughout his face that he's never experienced before. He knew it would be different with Katniss. He couldn't put his finger on why, but somehow he knew it would be like that.

Without realizing it, Peeta finds himself near Katniss' house on Seam Ave, but twenty or so blocks away.

"I have Katniss on the brain," he whispers to himself and decides to pull over. He takes out his phone and sends her a text message.

_Somehow I ended up on your street. I guess that kiss did something to me._

Peeta sits there in his car waiting for her response and hoping that she would ask him to come over. He would love to see her one last time tonight; maybe for another small kiss. Peeta smiles to himself as he turns on his car and innocently continues down the avenue. It seems he hits every red light and what would have been a less than ten minute drive, turns into nearly twenty minutes.

There are sounds of an ambulance in the distance and he wonders where it is going. He pulls over to the side when it passes by him, heading down Seam Ave. He hits another red light and decides to send Katniss another text message.

_So I have a confession. I was heading down your street because I wanted to see if I could convince you to come outside, but this ambulance just passed me. Do you hear the sirens?_

It strikes Peeta as odd that Katniss hasn't responded yet to his texts, but he keeps on driving down her street considering that she may be showering and getting ready for bed. He notices the ambulance in the distance and that it has stopped. The lights are flashing lighting up the otherwise dark street and when Peeta sees they're at Katniss' house he starts to panic. He parks his car across the street from their house when he arrives, and rushes over just as the paramedics are coming out her front door.

To his horror he sees the limp body of a dark haired woman who is connected to an IV bag and has her left wrist being pressed by one of the paramedics. Peeta gets closer and he nearly falls to the ground. It's Katniss.

"Katniss! Katniss!" He yells running towards them. He reaches the ambulance, and sees that she is pale and that there's blood on her sweater and shirt. Katniss' arm looks bruised and the paramedics are yelling something to him.

"Get back! Get back!" They yell at him.

"I know her! That's my friend! What happened?" Peeta yells at them back but they ignore him as they push her into the back of the ambulance. "Where are you taking her?" He continues to yell and before they close the doors they respond, "Capitol."

Peeta races back to his car and makes a u-turn to head to the hospital but not to impede the ambulance from getting there first. His mind is racing and a million thoughts about what happened to Katniss that lead to her being taken to the hospital by an ambulance. Peeta wonders if the family was robbed and Katniss was attacked but he only saw her being taken away and no other ambulances taking her family away. Peeta thinks back and remembers seeing only one car in the driveway. Maybe Katniss was home alone?

When Peeta arrives at the hospital he hears the ambulance in the distance. He runs into the ER and to the intake desk.

"My friend is coming through the emergency room!" He begins in a loud voice. "I need to get in there. I don't know what happened."

"Calm down young man," the clerk tells him. "You'll have to wait until they are stabilized before any visitors are allowed in. Write their name down here and I'll let you know when you can go in." The woman pushes a paper pad toward him and he scribbles down her name then pushes it back to her. "Okay take a seat. It may be a while."

Peeta paces back and forth in the emergency room waiting area and nearly an hour later, the clerk calls him over.

"Yes?" He answers with a hurried voice when he gets to the desk.

"Your friend is in the emergency room still, but she's being transferred to another section. I can't divulge exactly where, but she'll be there for at least a day before she's transferred again. Once she is there you can call this number or come back and arrange for a visit." Peeta looks at her with his eyebrows furrowed as she pushes a paper toward him.

"That's it?" He questions her.

"That's all the information I can give out to non-immediate family members. I'm sorry." Peeta takes the slip of paper and heads out of the ER. He's completely baffled as to why Katniss is being transferred to another section of the ER that he can't readily know about unless he was related to her. Peeta runs his hand through his hair as he sits back in his car. He doesn't know what to do next to get information about her.

He decides to drive back to her house to see if anyone stayed behind. When he arrives there he notices that the windows are dark in her house, and that the other car is missing. His head makes a loud thud noise as he hits it against the steering wheel repeatedly trying to get out his frustration. What happened to Katniss?

Katniss' mother paces outside the room that her daughter is located in, in the emergency room while her husband sits there with his hands tightly wrung. Her face is red and wrinkled from crying and she's undecided what she needs to do next. She's waiting for the doctor to come out to tell her, her daughter's prognosis.

"Are you two her parents?" A doctor walks over to them with a chart. Both Katniss' mother and step father stand up nodding their heads. "Well we've run some tests and she's fine. She just in a little bit of shock and that's to be expected with her finding her sister like that. We'll keep her overnight for observation and then she can go home." Katniss' mother smiles as she thanks the doctor and races into the room.

Prim's small body is lying on the bed wrapped in a blanket and her face is flushed. She was screaming non-stop after she found Katniss' body on the floor in the bathroom. The red puddle outside the bathroom door drew her in and then when she saw her there she just couldn't stop screaming.

"Oh Prim," her mother begins as she sits down by her bedside caressing her cheek, "You're going to be okay and then we're going to go home in the morning alright." Prim doesn't speak but looks up at the two of them. Her father has tears in his eyes and her mother is wiping the ones that are falling.

"Katniss?" Prim whispers. Her mother's face changes but only slightly before she looks back at Prim.

"Don't worry about it okay sweetie. We'll get you home in the morning and worry about her later." Prim is too weak to ask any further questions so she turns into her mother's hand on her cheek and closes her eyes.

Just then a hospital worker knocks on the door.

"Are you Katniss Everdeen's parents?" The young lady requests.

"Yes," her mother answers tightly.

"She's back from surgery and they need one of you to come over to sign some papers." Katniss' mother closes her eyes forcefully before standing up to leave the room.

"I'll be back," she tells them and then follows the young lady out of the pediatric emergency room. Katniss has been transferred to the psychiatric emergency room holding area and is on an IV drip but is still unconscious from the small amount of anesthesia they gave her to stitch up her wrist.

"Hello. Are you Katniss' mother?" The doctor greets when she walks into the holding area.

"I am."

"Hello, my name is Dr. Aurelius. I'm Chief Resident here for Psychiatry and I'll be treating your daughter. Do you know exactly what happened?"

"No."

"You have no idea why your daughter slit her wrist?"

"No."

"Did you know that she had been cutting herself?"

"Honestly I just found that out earlier and we had a conversation about it. Her little sister, who is in the pediatric ER as we speak, saw her cutting and told my husband and I. I confronted her and then this happened." Katniss' mother shifts uncomfortably as she speaks to the doctor.

"Alright. What exactly did you say to her about her cutting?" Dr. Aurelius writes down his findings as he continues speaking to her mother.

"I just asked her why she was doing it. She seemed so happy and I didn't understand why she was hurting herself."

Dr. Aurelius nods his head and then speaks, "Is your daughter on any medication for depression or anxiety?"

"She's on something but I don't have the name of it with me."

"Okay," Dr. Aurelius replies sighing audibly. "So here is what we're going to do about Katniss. She's going to be admitted to the psychiatric unit and we're going to evaluate her. Even though she is 18, because of her present state and the fact that she's on your insurance, we need to you authorize treatment on her behalf." He takes out a consent from form the clip board and hands it to her.

"Fine," her mother answers taking the paper roughly from the doctor.

"Do you have a number we can contact you with?" Her mother nods and writes her number on the paper and Dr. Aurelius looks at it and is satisfied. "Did you want to see her? She's right over there," he points over his shoulder. Katniss' mother looks over the doctor's shoulder and sees Katniss lying on the bed, her armed wrapped and restraints on her.

"Why is she in restraints?"

"I'm sorry, protocol. They'll be off when she's admitted to the floor. I'll have someone call you so that you can come tomorrow." Her mother nods her head and then walks out of the psychiatric ER. Dr. Aurelius stands there nearly confused at Katniss' mother's behavior. He fully expected her to be crying and nearly throwing herself on her daughter, but all he was met with was indifference.

Dr. Aurelius hands the consent form to the clerk there and walks over to Katniss to check her vitals.

"Katniss," he whispers. "I think this night just became really interesting." He pats her hand but Katniss doesn't move; still asleep from the anesthesia.

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**Thank you for reading! Find me on tumblr at anais117-fanfic or lenai17.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Thank you again for all the positive feedback!**

**Just a side note, I never assigned a name to Katniss' mother since she isn't Mrs. Everdeen anymore. I chose the name Mrs. Reynolds as you will see below.**

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It's less than eight hours after Katniss was brought to the hospital when she starts to wake up. She still feels groggy from the anesthesia and her vision is blurry. When she fully opens her eyes she can't place exactly where she is. Nearby her she hears someone announce that she's woken up but she can't really make out a face, just a body of a person who was sitting next to the bed she is in. Katniss lays very still willing her vision to correct, opening and closing her eyes until she hears another voice.

"Hello young lady," and she turns her head up to someone tall leaning over her bed. "I am Dr. Aurelius. Do you know where you are?" Katniss shakes her head. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Katniss Everdeen," she manages a few moments later as the doctor's face becomes clearer.

"Good. Do you know the date at all?"

"Sometime in July," Katniss whispers her mouth and throat very dry.

"Very good. We're in the end of July, the 26th to be exact. You are in Capitol Memorial Hospital, and you came here early this morning around 1am. Do you know what happened?"

Katniss looks up at him but her vision wanders and she tries to remember what happened that would have brought her here. She remembers she met Peeta at the lake, they kissed, and then she went home. Something happened with her mother and then all black. Katniss is suddenly aware that she is in restraints and begins to panic attempting to pull her arms free.

"Calm down Katniss," Dr. Aurelius softly commands, and with a gesture a nurse comes over with a syringe. She injects Katniss' IV line and immediately she begins to relax. "I'm sorry I had to do that, but I want you to be relaxed. We aren't going to hurt you here. We want to get down to the bottom of things." Katniss nods her head slowly but looks over to her left arm and sees that it's bandaged over the entire forearm. Tears begin to prick her eyes as she remembers; she tried to kill herself.

"I slit my wrist," she mumbles and looks up to the doctor through watery eyes.

"You did Katniss," Dr. Aurelius responds with the sides of his mouth turning up into a small tight lipped expression. "So we're going to transfer you to the psychiatric unit and then we'll take these off okay?" He informs her pointing to the restraints. Katniss nods again and closes her eyes. She feels tears running down her cheeks as she is embarrassed she let her mother pushed her this far.

"When we get to the unit Katniss, I'll talk to you some more. I just needed to know if you're okay for transport."

Katniss falls asleep before they can take her out of the psychiatric emergency room holding area and when she is woken up, she's in a small room with a single bed and side table. The room is white and there are no curtains, and the garbage has a paper bag in it. The bed has only some sort of fitted sheet and a special heavy blanket. There isn't a pillow. The orderly undoes her restraints and helps Katniss out of the transport bed to her small twin bed and then a nurse comes to take out her IV. A small meal is brought in soon after they leave but Katniss just stares at the tray on her bed.

"What have you done to yourself?" She whispers allowing the feeling of shame and guilt to wash over her. An orderly comes to her room several times to encourage her to eat, but after the fourth time they take her tray away and offer her a liquid substitute. Katniss drinks a small amount of the liquid and then a cup of water before they leave her alone.

A little while later a nurse gives her a small white pill and tells her it'll help her relax. Katniss falls into a dream less sleep soon after she takes the medication. Dr. Aurelius comes in and wakes her up just after two in the afternoon.

"Katniss, please wake up," his soft voice rings out in the room and she opens her eyes. She sits up in bed drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping the blanket around her lower half. They've dressed her in two hospital gowns and socks. She wonders when she'll be able to put on real clothes. "Hello Katniss," he begins. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," she responds her voice still low.

"Just okay?" Dr. Aurelius stares at her and she looks away. She studies the garbage can in the corner before turning back to him.

"I'm not okay," she whispers. "But I don't know how I feel."

"Alright," he answers her. "That's a start. May I ask you some questions?" Katniss nods her head.

"How long have you struggled with depression?"

"Since I was little," she replies staring ahead of her.

"How old were you when you first sought help for it?"

"16."

"Did they start you on medication right away?"

"Therapy first and then later on they entered me into a depression study and started me on Lexapro."

"Did that help?" Dr. Aurelius picks his head up from his writing pad and drops his pen to study Katniss.

"The first year it did but then it started to wear off."

"Did you tell your psychiatrist about that?"

"I did and he tapered me off of it and gave me Wellbutrin." Dr. Aurelius nods his head and looks back down at his papers.

"Were you 18 when they changed you to that drug?"

"Just about."

"And how did that drug work?"

"It didn't. I just started to feel different." Katniss sets her chin on her knees and looks over at Dr. Aurelius as he scribbles on the pad. She still feels a little light headed from sleep and possibly whatever pill they gave her.

"Okay. So when did you start cutting yourself?" Katniss looks away from him feeling her cheeks burn having to relive something she feels ashamed for doing. First her family found out and now she has to tell this new doctor about it.

"A few weeks ago."

"So you've never self harmed before then?" Katniss shakes her head.

"Why did you start cutting yourself?"

Katniss shrugs her shoulders before she answers. "To release tension I guess," and he nods his head.

"And do you remember what led you to slitting your wrists yesterday night?" Katniss continues to stare away from Dr. Aurelius and tears fill her eyes. When she begins to breathe heavier as she cries the doctor shakes his head. "It's alright Katniss, let it out," he advises and he hands her a tissue.

"It was my mother," she finally gets out. "She told me I was a mistake," and her body begins to shake with the effects of her crying.

"You're not a mistake Katniss," Dr. Aurelius tells her as he leans over on her bed and pats her foot under the blanket. "I think I know what course of action will help you." After a few moments of crying Katniss looks over to him.

"What?" She asks her voice low and childlike.

"I would like to arrange for therapy and starting you on an different type of drug treatment plan. The drug itself isn't new, but how we administer it to patients and the other therapy around it, is. Do you think you would be interested?" Katniss considers his words and adjusts herself against the headboard.

"Can I think about it?" She's unsure of trying anything new when the last two treatments she tried failed her.

"Sure. We don't have much time though as you need to be on something after recovering from a suicide attempt." Katniss nods her head. "I'll come back to visit you tomorrow and we can go from there. Is that okay?"

"Sure."

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As soon as Peeta finishes his shift at the bakery he makes his way back over to Capitol Memorial to see if he can visit with Katniss and find out what exactly happened to her. He was worried all night and couldn't sleep. All throughout the morning he found himself drinking coffee just to keep up with his prep work. Rye offered to switch places with him to help out the customers after hearing about Katniss being hospitalized.

Peeta arrives at the hospital and parks his car in the lot, taking his parking ticket with him. He rushes into the main entrance and to security to request to see his friend.

"Hello my name is Peeta Mellark. I'm here to see my friend Katniss Everdeen," he announces to the security guard manning the desk.

"Spell the first name please," the officer requests.

"K-a-t-n-i-s-s," he spells and the officer raises his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry but she's not cleared for visitors yet.

"Can you at least tell me where she is?" Peeta pleads.

"I'm sorry, I can't release that information. You however can leave her a note that I can send over to the unit she's in." Peeta nods his head and the officer hands him a clipboard with official hospital paper on it. He walks over to the seating area and sets himself down heavily on the chair and begins to write.

_Dear Katniss,_

_I don't know what happened but I'm worried about you. I was at your house last night and I saw them take you away in an ambulance. No one would tell me what happened. I hope you are alright and I miss you terribly. I care about you and I want you to get better. I hope to be able to visit you soon. _

_Peeta_

Peeta walks back over to the desk and hands the form over to the security officer who takes it out and scans it into a machine he has there. With the touch of a few buttons the machine beeps and the officer smiles at him.

"She'll get your message, I just sent it over to the nursing unit. Do you want to leave a number so a patient representative can contact you when she can receive visitors?" Peeta nods enthusiastically and fills out another form for the officer.

"Thanks man," he tells the officer as he walks out of the lobby. He heads back to his car but isn't satisfied with the limited information he has about Katniss so he decides to head to her house again in hopes of speaking to her parents.

Both cars are parked outside her house when he arrives and he feels hopeful that he'll get some sort of answers. He walks along the lawn and rings the bell carefully when he arrives at the front door. After a minute or so Katniss' mother answers the door. She looks at him curiously before greeting him.

"Hello, "she begins tightly.

"Hello Mrs. Reynolds, I was wondering if I could find out some information on Katniss. I was here last night and saw she was taken away by an ambulance but the hospital won't give me any other information." She eyes him carefully before she speaks again.

"Save your breath boy," she replies in a low voice. "She's in the mental ward and I don't think you want to deal with that." And with that she slams the door in his face. Peeta stands there stunned at both the slamming of the door and the fact that Katniss is in the mental ward of the hospital.

"What?" He whispers to himself slowly backing up. He looks up to her window and down back at the door not believing what her mother just told him. Suddenly he has a millions questions all at once. Peeta walks slowly to his car before slumping into the driver's seat. He's completely confused and he feels a pain in his chest that his friend is going through this. The scene of her bloody arm comes back to him and it must have been from her hurting herself. They don't put you in those parts of the hospital for anything.

A knock on his car window brings him back to reality and when he looks out he sees an unlikely visitor; Katniss' little sister Prim. He unlocks the door and she comes around and sits down next to him.

"Hi," she begins looking down. "I know why you're here." Peeta looks over at her and her eyes look hollow and her skin pale. She's wearing long sleeved pajamas even though it's nearly 80 degrees outside.

"You do?"

"You're here for Katniss. You want to know what happened to her." Peeta nods his head.

"She's in the psychiatric unit at Capitol Memorial. She tried to kill herself last night and I found her." Prim's blue eyes fill with tears as she looks down at her lap. Her arms are wrapped around her much like Katniss does to herself.

"Why?" He questions turning to her.

"Because she was sad for a long time and up until yesterday I never knew why. As long as I can remember my mother always told me that Katniss was just sad, but for silly things. She told me she was ungrateful and selfish. Katniss was my best friend until I was around five or six and that's when my mother started to turn me against her."

"Really?" Peeta raises his eyebrows and Prim nods her head.

"I never understood that she had a real problem because my mother kept telling me it was something else. I didn't even know she was on medication for depression until I looked in her dresser drawer last night to take out her razor blade stuffed in her socks."

"Why did she have razor blades?" Peeta furrows his brow as he continues to look at Prim.

"She would cut herself to be able to deal. I saw her doing that earlier yesterday and I went into her drawer to take a look. That's when I saw the bottle of pills. I googled the name and found out what they were for."

"What was she trying to deal with?

"Life, her friends, her family."

"Oh," Peeta responds suddenly feeling inadequate.

"But she did start to act like she was happy. That is, ever since she started hanging out with you," and Prim looks up to Peeta whose own eyes are now watering.

"Me?"

"Yes you. She really liked you and I think you were helping her but then my mother ruined it."

"What did your mom do?" Prim begins to breath heavier and her tears flow faster.

"She told Katniss she was a mistake," she sobs holding herself tighter. "That she should have gave her to her father to deal with and that she ruined their marriage." Prim continues to sob and Peeta reaches out to pat her arm. "My dad took me upstairs but I heard her tell Katniss those lies. I never realized how hateful she was to her and she tried to make me the same way. I never meant for Katniss to hurt herself like that. I love her. She's my big sister and last night I almost lost her," Prim completely breaks down and Peeta watches her, his own tears streaming down his face.

"It's not your fault," he tells her wiping his tears away. "You didn't know."

"I should have. I'm old enough to know better. I should have stood up to my mother. And just a few hours ago I heard her telling my dad that she doesn't want Katniss to come home after this. How could she do that?" Peeta sits there studying Prim as she sobs into her hands, muttering Katniss' name a few times as her cries get louder. When she's finally calms down, her face is red and puffy, but her tears has stopped.

"I'm going to visit her as soon as they let me okay? Do you want me to tell Katniss anything?"

"I don't know. I think she hates me," she sniffles.

"She doesn't hate you," Peeta reassures her. "Why don't you write a letter and I'll come by to pick it up in a few days."

"I'll bring it to the bakery. I don't want my mom to know." She insists.

"Okay Prim."

Prim gets out of the car and hurries back inside as Peeta drives off. He takes his time getting home driving around aimlessly and even visiting the promenade on the lake. It's dark out when he finally returns home and he finds his mother in the living room watching television.

"Hello Peeta," his mother says.

"Hello mom," he responds walking over and sitting down on the couch.

"Did you find out any information about your friend?" His mother found him awake last night when he gave up on sleeping and he had told her about Katniss being at the hospital.

"Yes, more than I thought. I stopped by her house and her little sister filled me in."

"Is she alright?" Her mother requests turning to him after shutting off the television. Peeta looks down and wills himself not to cry as he thinks about her feeling so alone that she thought suicide was her only choice.

"No," he finally chokes out and Mrs. Mellark moves closer to him on the couch and pulls him into a hug. It's still very unfamiliar for Peeta to be hugged by his mother as she spent a long time recovering from her own boughts of depression that left her irritable and not a very effective parent. After the last few years of intense therapy both by herself and with her family, they have all come a long way.

"I'm so sorry Peeta," she soothes rubbing his back.

"Her parents are horrible," he admits. "Her mother pushed her to try to kill herself." And his mother pushes back and looks at her son, his eyes overrun with tears.

"Oh," she responds uneasy as she thinks about her own treatment of her children. Peeta sees the look on her face and shakes his head.

"No mom, don't think about that. You're getting better. You are better," and he tries to smile for her. She pats his hand and manages a weak one in return.

"Why don't we have some special tea." Mrs. Mellark gets up abruptly and heads to the kitchen to put on the kettle. Peeta follows wiping his eyes and takes a seat on the stool overlooking the island in front of the stove. "So did you know she was going through all of this?"

"No," he shakes his head. "I just thought she was shy at first but now I see that she probably was depressed." His mother nods her head as she takes down two cups and the satchel of ingredients that make up the special tea she's been using to help sooth her on the difficult days during her recovery. The tea has been used by all of the family for various reasons, but mostly on very emotional days.

After the tea is steeped, she scoops the special powder in along with a little bit of honey. Peeta takes his cup from her and begins to sip.

"Thank you mom."

"No problem biscuit," she smiles at him using an affectionate name his grandmother gave him as a baby. She said he looked all squished liked a raw biscuit when he was born.

After the tea is finished mother and son walk upstairs and hug one another good night. Peeta enters his room and undresses and then showers before heading back to his room for bed. When his head hits the pillow his dreams find him soon after.

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**So it looks like little Prim has redeemed herself? I hope you guys all saw it that way. It was difficult for me to write a sibling like that, but I have experienced that in my own life; a parent turning a sibling against another.**

So what did you guys think of how Peeta found out about Katniss? And surprise, he has a nicer mother while Katniss got stuck with a not so nice one in this story.

If you're wondering, the medication they gave Katniss after she was admitted to her room helped her to be more receptive to being psychoanalyzed. I just had a conversation with a pharmacist I work with about this very type of medication. This was why she opened up to him even though she didn't know he very much. Sometimes doctors have to do this to help treat a patient.

Also the study I discussed with Lexapro and Wellbutrin, I was in such a study and I took Lexapro for a while for depression. It worked at first but did wear off. I didn't however go on another medication, but in that study Wellbutrin was the other choice which I wasn't put on at all. I had someone very close to me on Wellbutrin who did experience some interesting side effects and with some research I did, it can unfortunately lead to a person become suicidal. (Those are rare side effects though.)


	11. Chapter 10

Peeta throws himself into his work so not to be reminded that he has to wait on a phone call in order to be able to visit Katniss in the hospital. It weighs heavily on his mind that his friend is going through something and he has no idea of her progress; that is if she's made any at all.

"Hello Peeta," Prim calls out to him when she walks into the bakery a few days after she met with him outside of her house. Rory walks along with her and finds himself staring into one of the cookie displays while she walks over to the counter where Peeta is placing cookies onto platters to be arranged in one of them.

"Hey Prim. How are you?" He looks up from his cookies and smiles at her. She returns it and without hesitation takes a small envelope from her purse and hands it to him.

"Better, thank you," she begins. "Please give this to Katniss when you see her," she requests her eyes a little sad.

"Of course. Has the hospital called you guys with any information?"

"Actually they have," and a smile crosses his face, "but my parents won't tell me and they won't bring me to see her. They said it's because it could traumatize me further." Peeta's shoulders slump at her last words. "I tried to tell my mother that I was fine but she kept trying to convince me I wasn't. Yes I was upset over what happened to Katniss, but I'm not mad at her. I'm more mad at myself and my mother."

"I'm sorry," Peeta offers.

"It's fine. I just feel different that's all."

"How so?" Peeta furrows his eyebrows.

"Like I'm not a kid anymore," her voice shakes and she lowers her head. Rory appears and wraps an arm around her when he sees her posture.

"Do you want something?" He whispers to her. "Gale won't be back for an hour so we can sit down if you like."

"You're Gale Hawthorne's brother?" Peeta interrupts and Rory looks up at him nodding his head. "Was his girlfriend Johanna with him when they dropped you two off?"

"Yes," Rory replies. "Why?"

"I went to school with them and I actually need to talk to Johanna."

"Okay," Rory answers and then walks Prim slowly over to the pastry display to pick out something. Peeta thought about whether Katniss' friends knew what had happened to her and also wanted to know if they had known if she was depressed. Maybe they saw something that he couldn't. Granted he hadn't spent much time with her outside of the summer, but part of him wishes he had noticed something so that he could have prevented what happened to her.

After the pair order and sit down, Peeta helps a few more customers and finishes some prep work he had left over from the morning when Rye worked. An hour goes by before Gale and Johanna appear in the doorway to pick up Prim and Rory.

"Hey guys," Peeta calls out when he sees them and Gale waves while Johanna attempts to make eye contact with him. She walks toward him her arms around her waist and her eyes red. Gale has now placed his hand on her shoulder again, and he looks at her as they both approach the counter.

"Hey Peeta," Gale replies first and then Johanna lifts the corner of her mouth in a smile but it falls flat.

"I'm actually glad you two are here. Can I talk to you Johanna for a moment?" He asks looking from her to Gale.

"Sure," she answers and she pats Gale on his side and he takes his arm away and joins Prim and Rory at the table. Peeta leads her into the back office of the bakery and offers her a chair in front of the desk there. They both sit down and Peeta begins to speak.

"So I'm guessing you know about Katniss?" Johanna nods but her head is low and she's looking at something on the desk. "Did you know what was going on with her?"

"She just recently told me she was depressed, like literally the day it all happened. I just thought she was shy and emotional from high school. I never knew it was that serious." She wipes a stray tear from her cheek.

"I'm sorry," Peeta apologizes.

"It's fine really. I'm more upset that I won't be able to see her because I'm leaving for school next week. I was called a few days ago for a work study opportunity at school and I really need it."

"And it looks like they're only letting her family in to see her," Peeta adds and Johanna nods again sniffling and Peeta hands her a tissue. "I'm actually waiting for them to get back to me about when I can come see her. Prim just told me her parent's won't take her to see Katniss even though I'm sure they want her family there." Johanna shakes her head and looks up to Peeta.

"Do you know how fucked up I am?" Johanna begins; her voice breaking. "I told her that she should be happy that at least her parents take care of her. I guess I was wrong. Really wrong." She leans down into her hands and rubs her eyes.

"You didn't know," Peeta tries to convince her but part of it is to convince himself. How didn't Johanna know that Katniss' had such bad parents? Didn't she hang out at her house all the time? This isn't the time to play the blame game though. He has to focus on the task at hand; finally seeing Katniss and making sure those that care about her either see her or at least send her a note.

"What about Annie?" He asks a few moments later.

"She wants to go see as soon as she's allowed. Her and Finn are heading to school the week after next so she doesn't have much time either." Jo hanna continues to wipe her face and look down at the desk. Her leg is shaking and in between wiping her face, she fidgets with her hair.

"Have you tried sending her a note? I did last week when I tried to see her. If you can't make it to the hospital you can write a hard copy and I'll bring that instead. Hopefully it will help in her recovery knowing her friends are there for her even if they can't be there physically." Johanna finally nods her head and gives him a small smile.

"You're a really nice guy Peeta. Can you do me a favor while we're all away for college?"

"Sure anything," he responds.

"Take care of her."

"Always."

It only took Katniss one night to agree to the therapy that Dr. Aurelius offered her. After he left her that first session, Katniss asked an orderly if there was any available paperwork for her to read about it and he nodded his head. Katniss was met with a very bubbly social worker whose name was Ms. Effie Trinkett. She was assigned to Katniss during her stay at the hospital and would also be one of the team members during the therapy sessions.

It turned out the therapy would start while Katniss was in the hospital and would continue in outpatient services. It consisted of different portions including one on one therapy with Dr. Aurelius, group therapy with a therapist named Haymitch Abernathy, life and goal planning with Ms. Trinkett, and exercise and fitness therapy with a physical therapist named Cinna Jones. The program would focus less on drug therapy, but the entire picture when it comes to recovery.

"I'm glad you decided to join Katniss," Dr. Aurelius congratulated her that next morning when he arrived to find out her decision.

"It different than what I've had before." She told him.

"Yes, we wanted to offer everything that is usually recommended for a patient after they are released from the hospital after an attempt. We wanted to make sure you are successful in recovery so everything you need is right here in this package." Katniss nodded her head but settled her chin on the tops of her knees as she sat there covered in her blanket.

"Are you ready to begin?" Those were the first words he spoke to her that started the process. She nodded and a wide grin of approval spread across Dr. Aurelius' face.

On the first day, Katniss was helped to the shower where a female orderly assisted her because she was still a little weak. Afterward she was given clothes; well a hospital issued sweat suit, and led to her first one on one session with Dr. Aurelius.

In that first session, they went over some of the things she mentioned on her intake and that was where he informed her how long her stay would be. Their goal was for her to spend two full weeks there, and then be released to her family where she would continue the program on an outpatient basis.

"We've informed your family that they can visit you this week and Effie is waiting on their return call." Dr. Aurelius begins.

"I doubt they'll come," Katniss mumbles into her lap as she sits across from Dr. Aurelius in his office.

"Why do you say that?" He questions as he positions a writing pad on his lap.

"They're pretty much the reason I'm in here," Katniss begins. She thinks back as far as she can to every instance of her feeling bad and which one of her family members caused her to feel that way.

"How are they the reason?"

"They've just always made me feel terrible about myself. I remember being a little girl and feeling torn between my mother and my stepdad and my father and my stepmom. I never felt I belonged to any family." Dr. Aurelius nods his head.

"What is the earliest memory of you experiencing bad feelings in a situation with your family?" Katniss continues to look down and rub her fingers together in a lose clasp.

"Probably after Prim was born. I was five at the time and I remember my mother being so happy that she was home. I remember her and my stepdad mentioning repeatedly how she had a golden tuff of hair that matched theirs. I went to my room and looked in the mirror that hangs on my door and I took a yellow crayon to try to make my hair lighter."

"You felt like you wanted to match with the rest of the family?"

"Yes. I wanted the attention, well actually the acceptance, my little sister was getting. Years later my mother told me I was just jealous of all the attention she got because she was the new baby. Somehow I knew it was much more than that. I knew her being there effectively pushed me out of the family because I looked different."

"So who do you look like?" He questions her placing the tip of his pen in his mouth to chew on slightly.

"Well it's funny actually. There are pictures of my father when he was a baby and we look exactly alike; the dark hair and gray eyes. His eyes changed though as he got older and they look brown most times, but sometimes hazel."

"What does your stepmother look like?"

"Like him, and so do their children."

"How did you feel when you visited with him?"

"Well neither of them pointed out I looked different, just some of her relatives. They liked to say that my gray eyes were interesting. I knew what they were getting at, as if I didn't belong to my father but it was just so stupid. Genes are interesting and you never know what will happen until you give birth. And also I look exactly like my dad, even with his eyes being a different color. They just didn't like the fact that he had extra baggage coming into the relationship, even though my step mother had a son when she married my dad. I guess she was excused because her previous husband died but with my dad my mother was alive and I guess they expected her to deal with me solely."

"That must have been frustrating for you Katniss. How did you cope when you were younger?" Dr. Aurelius scribbles on the pad as she thinks about his question.

"I'd try to ignore it by playing, but when I got older I started to write. That's how my teacher realized that I may need to speak to a therapist."

"What did you write about to prompt that?"

"It was a poem about being lonely even when you have groups of people around you. I wrote something about my family misunderstanding me and wanting to leave them."

"And that's when you started to see the school therapist and then were entered into the depression study?" Katniss nods.

"So let's talk about your father. How is your relationship with him and his wife now?"

"Confusing. I don't visit him often because his wife doesn't like me, even though she invited me over all the time when I was growing up. I would compare her to my mother as she seemed to like to be hard on me."

"And your step siblings?"

"They're boys and younger so I don't think they really care. One of them is a year older than my little sister and it was weird that at my graduation party they were sneaking off trying to kiss or something." Dr. Aurelius smiles and this and continues to write.

"Do both sets of your parents get along?"

"They do, more than I would have imagined."

"How does that make you feel Katniss?"

"Like they'll eventually gang up on me and push me out of both of their lives," Katniss responds, lifting her knees up against her chest on the couch. After a few moments of writing something down Dr. Aurelius looks up and begins to speak.

"Alright this looks like a good foundation for how I want your therapy to proceed. I want to focus on the feelings you experienced as a child and how you coped with them. Then we're going to go through suggestions on how you can better cope when you have those feelings again." Katniss nods her head against her knees and Dr. Aurelius smiles faintly

"I have a few more questions, just protocol that I'll ask you at some point during our sessions. Is that alright?" Katniss nods. "Are you feeling suicidal at all today?" Katniss shakes her head. "Have you felt the urge to cut?" Katniss shakes her head. "How is your appetite?"

"Better," she replies. "I ate my breakfast this morning but sometimes at dinner they have to give me that liquid replacement."

"Alright," he nods his head. "Any other side effects from the medication we've been giving you since you came to the unit.

"I'm thirsty and am tired."

"Normal," he adds. "So that medication was a temporary one to help you with initial intake and therapy. We've also been weaning you off of the Wellbutrin. In the next session we'll discuss the new medication we'll be starting you on." Dr. Aurelius shuffles around some paper before coming across a form. "Did you want your father to know you were here? Your mother didn't leave any information about him on the form I had her fill out in the emergency room."

"Okay," Katniss replies and Dr. Aurelius hands her the form for her to fill out.

"So I'm pleased with our start today and am optimistic about your therapy." He smiles at her and she returns a small one. "I wanted to also let you know that you received a letter from a friend the other day. Do you think you're up for reading it?"

"What friend?" She questions not thinking anyone would know she was here, or even care. While Johanna didn't seem interested about her depression, Annie seemed to care, but more so in as a form of pity.

"A Peeta Mellark? It seems he wanted to visit you but for now you only can be seen by your immediate family. By next week I think you'll be able to have a visit with a friend before you're discharged." Katniss looks at Dr. Aurelius with wide eyes and then back down at her knees. Peeta knows she's here? Does he know that she's suicidal, possibly a little crazy? Her cheeks warm at the realization and Dr. Aurelius picks up on it.

"You do know our staff is not allowed under law to divulge where you are in the hospital right? I can't tell you how he knows that you are here, but I can assure you we take privacy very seriously here." Katniss nods her head but doesn't look up at the doctor. "You can write back to him, or I could so he at least knows you're okay. Effie will go over with you the importance of a support group of friends and family once you leave here. I understand if you need time to think about it, but I also wouldn't try to push away a friend who wants to be there for you." Katniss nods her head slowly but doesn't say anything else for a little while. Dr. Aurelius observes her as he finishes up some paperwork and then she speaks.

"In a few days I'll read his letter, but you can send him something so he knows I'm okay."

"Not a problem."

Katniss is goes back to her room after declining to spend time in the common area with the other patients. Since she was enrolled in a special program, she didn't have to follow what the other patients were doing. They were currently immersed in an art class and for a minute it reminds her of Peeta. He was out there thinking about her and she could barely face the medical staff here without having to take medication.

Katniss finds herself in bed, the heavy blanket around her, thinking of Peeta. She smiles when she remembers how she felt in his arms; so safe and warm. She remembers how deft his lips moved against hers and wonders if she'll ever experience that feeling again.

* * *

**Thank you all so much for the feedback and comments for this story! I do my best to reply back to everyone and address the questions that come up. For instance, there were some questions about Mrs. Mellark's behavior. While at the beginning of writing this story I think I wanted her to be the same as she's always depicted, but as I continued to write, I realized I needed her to be different for the sake of Peeta. So I did write her as recovering from depression and to connect the beginning of the story and now, it makes sense to describe her as having good days and bad days. She'll have those days when she says something that is hurtful, but she'll make up for it as best as she knows how. I will definitely get more into her story in later chapters! Thank you all so much again!**

**(I had an anonymous review about my use of the term "psychoanalyze", which was the word that was used by the pharmacist when he described to me how the medication works. I'm open to anyone sending me a message or writing a review, who reads this story and may have more knowledge about this subject. Most of my knowledge comes from personal experience and what I learned at work. Thanks again!)**


	12. Chapter 11

In the middle of the afternoon Peeta receives a call on his cell phone from an unknown number. He excuses himself to the back office and answers it.

"Hello, may I speak to Peeta Mellark?" The voice on the other end begins.

"This is he," Peeta answers.

"I'm calling from Capitol Memorial Hospital on behalf of Patient Relations. You left information in regards to a visiting appointment for Katniss Everdeen."

"Yes, yes," he replies eagerly.

"Her doctor has cleared her for visitors outside of her immediate family starting Monday of next week. Are you available?"

"I am."

"How about Monday at noon?"

"Sounds great," he answers without hesitation.

"Just a heads up, there will be some routine procedures you will go through before you can see her. It will all be explained when you get here on Monday alright?" The representative explains.

"Okay," he replies and hangs up the phone. He silently pumps his fist and for the first time in a few days he feels a bit relaxed.

It's Friday and he decides to start planning what he'll bring with him from the bakery for her. He managed to already procure a letter from Prim and Johanna, and even spoke to Annie about her leaving her information with the hospital so that she can be contacted for a visit. He assumes that they have or will call her today so he'll text her later to see which day she is going. Peeta hopes he can visit Katniss a few times next week as he misses her and wants her to know that she has his support.

* * *

Across town at the hospital, Dr. Aurelius picks up the phone to have the conversation he wished he didn't have to make, with Katniss' mother. Effie, himself and even a few people from Patient Relations tried to get in contact with her and her family to set up a meeting with them and Katniss. So far they haven't returned the calls that have been made and Dr. Aurelius is growing impatient.

"Hello," Katniss' mother answers on the phone.

"Hello Mrs. Reynolds, this is Dr. Aurelius calling from Capitol Memorial on behalf of your daughter. I really need to speak with you."

"Okay," she replies shortly.

"We've been trying to contact you all week so that you can come visit your daughter but so far you've been ignoring our requests. Can I ask why?" He asks her trying to keep his emotions out of his voice. After speaking to Katniss all week about all the things that have happened to her as a child and then recently, he's completely impatient with her.

"I'm sorry I've been busy with making arrangements for my other daughter Prim. She's still dealing with the aftermath of what Katniss did and right now she's my primary focus."

"And what about Katniss? She's in the hospital and needs to see her family. Is that not important?" Dr. Aurelius responds.

"I'm sorry but Katniss is an adult now and Prim is only 13…" she begins and then he cuts her off.

"She may be an adult but she still needs her family. Why are you being reluctant to come see her?" He prods.

"Well because I'm having a little problem with dealing with everything. Prim is having nightmares every night and my husband is really upset. He doesn't even want her to come back home at this point," Katniss' mother argues.

"And you're okay with your husband kicking out your daughter which both of you have been raising since before Prim was born?"

"Listen," she nearly yells, "I don't really have a choice in the matter. This is my husband's house and if he doesn't want her here, she's not coming back. Like I said Katniss is an adult; she can take care of herself at this point."

"She needs her family," he finally pleads. "In order for her to recover properly, her family needs to be a support system for her."

"I'm sorry," Katniss' mother responds. "I just can't jeopardize Prim or my own relationship with my husband any further. I need to go," and she hangs up the phone leaving Dr. Aurelius hanging on the other line.

Dr. Aurelius leans back in his chair with his hands pressed into a steeple over his mouth. How could her mother be so callous and uncaring about her daughter? While Katniss was making progress these past few days opening up to him and them using less Valium to allow her to be receptive to therapy, this would be a huge setback. Not only will she begin to feel like her family abandoned her, now social work would have to find a halfway house for her to stay in.

He calls Effie later on and breaks the news and she just sighs over the phone.

"She's so young," she comments as she begins to do a search on her computer. "I think we should wait until next week though before we tell her. I think she's looking forward to seeing her friends and I don't want to ruin it."

Dr. Aurelius agrees and for the next few days he says nothing during their sessions. He goes over with her again the importance of her friends as a support system but doesn't bring up her family. Katniss doesn't bring them up either, giving up that they'd visit her pretty much from the beginning of their sessions together.

On Monday morning Effie comes into Katniss' room early to help her prepare for the day's activities.

"Up, up Ms. Everdeen," she begins as she stands at the foot of her bed. "Today is going to be a big, big, _big_ day for you."

"Huh," Katniss answers wiping the drool from her face and turning on her pillow.

"You have an appointment with me before you see your friend Peeta Mellark today so I need you up and showered and then you and I will have breakfast together while discussing a few things."

Katniss groans as she sits up in bed and notices Effie there smiling from ear to ear. She's wearing a light pink blouse with a darker pink pencil skirt. She stands on high heels that are the same color as her blouse. When Katniss looks back up to her face she sees her usual loose blonde curls are tied back into a bun with pink chop sticks stuck in the small curly mass. Effie's makeup is light; just cover up and a light pink lipstick on her thinning lips, and eyeshadow that accents her arched eyebrows. Her long blonde eyelashes frame her blue eyes that are twinkling as she looks over Katniss' seated form.

"So tell me about this Peeta Mellark," she requests as she holds out her hand to Katniss and helps her to the bathroom. In the mornings she's been experiencing slight dizziness as her medication has been changing. She still has a dose of Valium before her sessions with Dr. Aurelius and today she'll start her new anti-depressant with her breakfast. She went over the specifics with Dr. Aurelius and he informed her that the new medication would target her depression, while she'll have a second medication for anxiety.

After she showers and dresses in a long sleeved shirt and lounge pants, Effie leads her to her office where they sit down and have breakfast.

"So you went to high school with him?" Effie continues their conversation.

"Yes, and we shared an art class in 11th grade."

"And you never noticed him?"

"Just that he was insanely popular," she responds stabbing her oatmeal with her spoon.

"But he noticed you?" She questions dabbing the side of her mouth as she sets her fork down next to her eggs.

"I guess so," Katniss responds lowering her head and now moving her spoon around in her oatmeal.

"Ooh like star crossed lovers," she adds clasping her fingers.

"It's not like that," Katniss adds. "Maybe before all of this it could have been, but now…" She trails off.

"Katniss don't think like that," Effie pats her hand. "Peeta came to the hospital and left a message and pretty much called us every day until we got back to him. He cares about you and I'm sure all of this doesn't matter to him. He wants to be there for you."

"How do you know?" Katniss looks up to her. "He doesn't even know that I'm in the psych ward."

"Psychiatric Inpatient Unit," Effie corrects, "And didn't you read his letter?" Katniss cheeks turn red as she remembers going over his words. Effie and Dr. Aurelius had to read the letter first to make sure it was safe for her and from what they both gathered Peeta was someone that could be a part of her support system once she left the hospital.

"I guess," she continues to look down with a small smile crossing her face.

"It'll be okay Katniss. Now let's get started," and she takes both their trays and places it on a table outside of her office.

For the next hour or so Katniss discusses some of the short term goals she wants to accomplish once she gets out the hospital and signs some paperwork authorizing Effie to respond to her school about the fall semester. The staff recommended that she take that semester off to get used to her new routine.

Katniss heads back to her room to take a short nap afterward to prepare for Peeta's visit. She's feeling tired from just her morning routine and wants to be able to have a nice meeting with Peeta as she misses him as well. When Dr. Aurelius asked her if she wanted her friends to visit her this week, at first she was reluctant because she was still coming to terms to where her actions landed her. After both he and Effie stressed the importance of having familiar faces around during recovery, she agreed. After reading Peeta's letter she felt even better about her decision to allow her friends to visit her because at least she knew Peeta was going to come see her.

She worried though that once she told Peeta the complete details that he might run away, but for right now she doesn't want to think about that. Dr. Aurelius suggested she take one step at a time and he even recommended he'd be there when she decides to explain everything to him. The first visit should focus on her seeing him again and light topics, and the second or third visit with Dr. Aurelius there to help talk with Peeta about her situation.

* * *

Peeta leaves the bakery around 11am giving himself plenty of time to run into traffic, go through the long check in to see Katniss, and pretty much anything else that can be thrown his way. He didn't want to be late and even woke up around four in the morning to prepare the cheese buns for Katniss and the staff. Rye teased him that he was sucking up to everyone, but he assured him he was just being courteous to everyone for helping him finally see Katniss again.

He arrives and parks his car without incident and then finds his way to Patient Relations in the lobby.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Peeta Mellark and I'm here to visit with Katniss Everdeen." The clerk looks through the system and finds his name.

"ID please?" She requests and Peeta places the boxes of cheese buns on the counter and takes out his wallet. "Those smell really good," she comments as she types in his information and prints out a temporary ID visiting badge.

"Would you like one?" She nods her head and after she hands him his badge she turns around and produces a napkin where Peeta opens the box and she takes one carefully with it. She smiles and leads him to security where a guard checks his badge and then leads him to a room that has lockers.

"Your friend is in the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit and there are a few things that aren't allowed in. We'll provide you with a locker to store those things." The security guard reads the list and Peeta empties his pockets and takes off his belt, along with the plastic bag that held the boxes and his shoe laces. He leaves behind his wallet, cell phone, keys, and loose change. The letters from Johanna and Prim sit securely in his back pocket after the officer runs them through a small x-ray machine on his desk.

"I'm sorry, I don't think you can bring those pastries up." Peeta frowns but opens his mouth to speak.

"Is there any way I can bring at least one with me? They're my friend's favorite and I thought it would cheer her up." The security guard nods and walks over to the phone to call up to the floor. After a few minutes he turns back to Peeta.

"You'll go up to the fourth floor and check them there. They'll make an arrangement so that you can bring one to her." After offering the officer one and him taking it, he leads Peeta to a back elevator to go up to the floor.

He walks into the elevator and lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding in. Peeta is nervous and he can feel the shivers across his skin. What if Katniss sees him and demands to go back to her room? What if she's unresponsive or doesn't want to talk to him? What if something else happens and they have to take her away? Memories of his mother during her hard times recovering from her own depressive episodes fill his mind. One time one of his mother's episodes were so bad, his father took him and his brothers to his grandparent's house for a week. He remembers crying the entire time as he didn't understand what exactly was going on. He was only ten years old.

The elevator beeps and the door opens to a man sitting at a desk. Peeta walks forward and the man there checks his badge and provides him with a small paper bag to place one of the cheese buns inside for Katniss. Peeta offers the rest to the staff and the clerk happily agrees as he points him toward a set of doors.

After going through three sets of doors Peeta is met by Effie Trinket.

"Hello Peeta," she begins in a sweet voice. "I'm Effie Trinket, Katniss' social worker." She offers him a hand and he shakes it. "I'm glad you made it. Please come this way." She leads him to an outside space that's set up with a small table and two chairs. He takes a seat and places the paper bag on the table top. "I'm going to go pick up Katniss. I'll be back in a minute," and she turns on her heels and walks back through the door. Peeta shakes his leg under the table and fiddles with the end of the paper bag. He's looking down at his fingers when he hears the door open and then Effie's voice speaking lowly to Katniss. Peeta's head shoots up and he sees her. She's fiddling with her braid and her hospital bracelet dangles as her hands move in her hair.

"Katniss," Peeta begins as he stands up and walks slowly to her. Katniss takes a few steps with Effie's guidance and they both stop a few feet from the other. Peeta is smiling at her but Katniss is looking down at the ground.

"Would you like me to stay?" Effie finally requests after a few moments of them standing there.

"It's okay," she whispers and Effie nods her head and walks toward the door. "I'm just right inside if you need anything okay." She walks out and Peeta watches her and then focuses on Katniss. She's still looking down and a few feet behind her Peeta notices a worker dressed in white sitting at a desk watching them.

"Hi Katniss," he begins and she looks up at him and then shies away.

"Hi Peeta," she finally responds to him and Peeta offers her a seat. She takes it and when Peeta is satisfied she comfortable he takes a seat.

"I brought you something," and he pushes the bun over to her. Katniss eyes it and picks it up, bringing it to her nose to smell.

"A cheese bun?" She smiles at the bag and places it back in front of her.

"Yes. I thought you might like something that wasn't hospital food," and she chuckles lightly. Peeta's smile widens and he folds his hands in front of him.

"So how are you?"

"I'm okay," she responds as she picks at her fingers.

"That's good." His smile fads a bit not knowing what else to say but remembering the letters in his back pocket. "Oh, I have two letters for you. One from Johanna and one from Prim." Katniss' head shoots up at the mention of Prim and she stares at him, her eyes wide.

"You saw Prim?"

"Yes."

"So I'm guessing you know why I'm here?" She requests still looking at him and he nods.

"I just want you to know that I'm here for you no matter what." Katniss continues to study him and then after a few minutes starts to pick at her fingers again.

"Did you see my mother?"

"Yes, but she didn't really want to see me. I tried to ask her about you but it was Prim who finally told me what happened." Katniss scoffs still picking at her fingers. "She was really upset."

"Why because my mom had to acknowledge I exist?"

"No because she feels bad for what happened to you. She's remorseful, but I'm sure it all in that letter…"Peeta trails off when Katniss expression changes.

"She feels bad? That's surprising. I thought she'd be upset that I didn't actually die," Katniss replies bitterly.

Peeta reaches over and takes one of Katniss' hands in his. "I'm sorry you went through what you did at your house, but I promise you that this time around you have me on your side to help you through it all. I want to help, honestly." Katniss smirks and pulls her hand away.

"I'm trouble Peeta. You don't want to get involved with this," she shakes her head as she points to herself.

"Funny, that's what you're mother said as she slammed the door in my face." He replies coolly, reaching for her hands again. "It doesn't matter because I still care about you, even more than before. This doesn't phase me," he waves his hands all around them. "I care about you and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help you get better." Katniss continues to shake her head but doesn't take her hands away from him. The warmth that she felt when he held her hand at the lake is spreading again and it comforts her. Peeta looks down at their joined hands and notices her hospital bracelet on her right wrist and a small bandage on her left. He swallows as she remembers that is where she hurt herself.

"Well suit yourself," she responds with a tone of finality. She won't admit it just yet but she's glad that he wants to be there for her.

"Please don't do that," he pleads looking back up to her eyes.

"Do what?"

"Try to shut me out. I honestly want to be here for you and if I didn't I wouldn't be sitting here with you. I consider us friends, and friends don't abandon each other. I'm not going to leave you Katniss. Not like this, and not ever," he looks at her his eyes glistening. He squeezes her hand and after a few moments, she squeezes back.

For the rest of the visit they sit in silence holding hands across the table with faint smiles on their faces. Katniss maps out the rough spots on the pads of his fingers, while Peeta lets his fingers smooth along the soft skin on her long fingers. He studies every line and crease on her knuckles while she imagines how each of his callouses were formed through his hard work at the bakery.

When Effie comes back to take Katniss to her room Peeta stands up with her still with her hands in his tightly. Katniss smiles at him as she slowly detangles her hands from his. She walks forward and leans into Peeta, completely taking him by surprise. He recovers and wraps his arms around her whispering that he'll come back to see her soon. Katniss revels in the feeling of his embrace and Peeta feels like he never wants to let her go.

Finally they break their embrace and Peeta waves her goodbye as Effie guides her, cheese bun and letters in hand, back inside. The staff thanks him for the cheese buns on his way out and he smiles at them, but little do they know that he's smiling because of her.

* * *

**So Peeta finally gets to see Katniss after what seems like an eternity! The information I used for the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit came from a mix of the hospitals I worked in the past and present. I also read a first hand account online on how it feels to visit someone there. I work in the pharmacy and we make deliveries there throughout the day, and there's specific protocols that staff has to follow and we're only there 15 minutes tops.**

**It will also be interesting to learn where Katniss will end up as she's won't be allowed to come back home. I honestly didn't want to keep having Katniss' mom be the worst mother on earth, but this type of situation happens too often where one child is put before another in what seems like an impossible situation. Prim feels that she is fine but in the stand point of a parent observing their child, they may feel the only way for one to recover is if the other is not present. I'm sure in this situation family therapy will be recommended to keep the family together, but when you have one parent who controls everything, (the finances, the house), make a decision like Mr. Reynold's did, it makes the situation really hard.**

**Katniss is 18 in this story and is of legal age and has finished high school already. While in some states you can argue a parent has to take care of their child until their 21, and/or keep them on their insurance until they're 26, there are always technicalities where 18 is the limit. I'm sure there are cases where the children are younger and if the family feels one child is a danger to the other ones, they can surrender them to the state and have them placed in foster care. (I honestly hate to think that there are parents out there surrendering their children like this, but I actually know someone who was in this same situation.)**

**Thank you once again for reading and reviewing and finding me on tumblr. It all makes my day!**


	13. Chapter 12

Peeta and Katniss walk around the courtyard holding hands on his fourth visit. It became progressively easier to talk with her when he kept coming back to visit and little by little she let her protective walls come down. With the encouragement of Effie and Dr. Aurelius, she began to trust that what he kept telling her was the truth.

"What? That doesn't even make sense," she laughs as Peeta tells her about a trick Rye tried when baking bread.

"He thinks he can cut corners, but my dad always taught us to follow the Mellark way which has been the same for over five generations," he replies squeezing her hand. They find themselves sitting back at the small table that has her cheese bun on top. Katniss opens it and pulls off a piece and then offers it to Peeta. He smiles and takes it from her and pops it into his mouth. "So how do you feel about leaving tomorrow? I know your family hasn't come to see you but they'll have to get over that when you're home."

"About that," Katniss lowers her head. "I just found out last night that they don't want me back home."

"What?" Peeta exclaims dropping his hands on the table. "They can't do that. You're barely 18. You're still their daughter…" he rambles on and she puts up her hand.

"It's fine. I'm actually relieved I don't have to go back to them. Effie has been looking into some special housing offered through the city for me and some of it looks promising. It's close enough I can drive here and there's parking…" This time Peeta cuts her off.

"Katniss that is a terrible idea. You'll be so far away and you'll have to get to know people all over again."

"What's wrong with that?" She counters. "They'll all be like me so it'll be less of a burden to have me around."

"What? You're not a burden to have around," he tells her reaching over to take one of her hands. "I like being around you Katniss. I've come to see you every day this week and it's not a bother at all." Katniss shakes her head.

"Well you're one of the nice ones. Most people aren't like you. I have to take care of myself now and that includes getting an apartment, finding a job to pay for it and my car, and then getting all of my stuff from my parent's house."

"Can't your dad help you?" Peeta requests, looking up at her with rounded eyes.

"He's away on vacation and I honestly don't want to bother him."

"Katniss he's your father and you need help!"

"It's not that simple Peeta. Even though I have two sets of parents, they'd both rather not be involved with me. Before my dad left for vacation, he only talked with me at graduation. Before that it was my birthday in May. He hits the holidays and big events and that's it." Peeta buries his other hand in his hair and looks up at her.

"Katniss there has to be a better way."

"What do you suggest? Johanna went off to college last week and Annie will next week so I can't stay at their houses. I have no other relatives that are close or care. All I'm left with is whatever Effie can find." A light bulb goes off in Peeta's head and he looks up smiling.

"I've got it," he snaps his fingers. "Why don't you stay with me?"

"What?" Katniss raises her eyebrows.

"Stay with me. Rye is taking the apartment over the bakery since Brandon and his wife finally moved into their new house. I'm getting Rye's old bedroom in the basement, so that leaves two bedrooms upstairs with my parents."

"I couldn't Peeta," she begins.

"Why not? My parents know what's going on with you and I'm sure they'd be willing to help if they could. I'd offer to pay rent for you so you'll be like a tenant," he clasps his hands together as he speaks.

"You'd pay rent for me?" She questions raising an eyebrow again. "Why would you do that?"

"Well until you found a job that is," he notes, "But In the meantime I know you need to adjust to therapy and your routine. You told me you're taking a semester off so probably the semester after you'd be able to do that." Katniss looks down at her hands and considers his words.

"I don't know Peeta. I don't want to put you out like this and cause an issue with you and your parents."

"There's no issue," he assures her. "I'll talk to them tonight and convince them. Do you trust me Katniss?" He takes two of her fingers in his hand and gently strokes them with his thumb.

"I do," she admits to him, finally realizing it after his visit yesterday. Dr. Aurelius explained to him about Katniss' condition; the parts she wanted him to know that is, and he sat there listening to every word. Afterward he hugged her tight and even shed a few tears with her when he repeated the words he said on Monday of promising to be there for her. She felt different in that moment seeing him like that; so vulnerable and open to her. Katniss knew right then that she could trust him knowing that he had already trusted her.

"Then please let me do this." Katniss eventually nods and places her other hand on his. He's smiling widely at her and somehow it affects her too; starting small and growing into a complete identical grin to his.

Peeta hugs her goodbye and runs a hand through her hair before she untangles herself and walks along with Effie. He smiles as he watches her walk away and folds his arms contemplating how he'll speak to his parents.

That night over dinner he decides to broach the topic when his mother asks about Katniss.

"So how did your visit go today with Katniss?" She questions as she refills his glass of water.

"Good. She's getting better and she's opening up to me more."

"That's good. She trusts you and I'm sure you're a good friend to her," Mrs. Mellark replies cutting into her chicken.

"About that," he begins. "Mom, Dad, I have a question for you two." His father puts down his fork and she holds hers in midair as she rests her wrists against the table.

"Katniss just found out her parents don't want her to come back home. She needs a place to stay and…" Mrs. Mellark cuts him off before he can even finish.

"I know what you're going to ask and I don't think that's a good idea." She responds wiping her mouth with her napkin. "I understand you're being a friend to her but that seems like a bit much. You've just started getting to know her in June and it's only August." Mrs. Mellark tries to explain.

"I don't know Ella, maybe she has no other options," he looks over at her. Peeta looks between his parents, his eyes pleading. His mother looks at his dad sternly almost upset that he would challenge her like this. They've had their arguments over the past few months, but have tried to yell less and talk more.

"Phillip," she begins, "It's not that simple."

"Please mom, she has nowhere to go. I _really_ care about her…" Mr. Mellark cuts him off now.

"So she's more than just your friend? When were you going to tell us you were trying to move your girlfriend into the house?" Ella smirks at him and then looks over at Peeta with an identical look.

"She's not my girlfriend," he tries to defend himself. "I care about her yes, but all we are, are friends. I promised I'd be there for her."

"Okay she's not your girlfriend, but did you stop to think about the huge responsibility to have someone else's child move into our house may be? How much it'll cost?"

"She's not a child," he argues and his dad raises his eyebrows challengingly. "Sorry," he quickly apologizes looking downward. "She's 18 Dad, but she has no means to take care of herself right now. I'll pay you guys rent for her until she can," and both his parents shake their heads. "They want to put her in city housing with other people who've come out of that hospital. It's not safe for her."

"How do you know it's not safe Peeta? It may be what she needs to recover," Ella speaks to him.

"Because she needs to be close to those who care about her recovery. Her other friends either went off or are going to college and her parents couldn't care less. All she has is me," he looks between both of them.

Both Ella and Phillip look at one another with their eyebrows raised.

"We'll have to talk about it," Phillip finally concedes.

"How long with that take?" He questions. "She leaves the hospital tomorrow morning."

"Well we need more time than that," Ella responds. "A few days."

"Alright," Peeta smiles faintly and excuses himself from the table. He'll have to come up with somewhere for Katniss to stay until his parents decide. He's hoping though that they will give her a chance.

* * *

"Hello Peeta," Effie greets him when he enters the unit. He left early this morning to visit with Katniss before they discharged her from the hospital. An uneasy feeling followed him from the time he woke up until he entered the hospital not knowing exactly where Katniss would be going today.

"Hi Effie," he smiles. Effie leads him to the courtyard and then leaves to get Katniss. When she arrives she's dressed in regular clothes and her hair is pulled into a wet braid down her back. Peeta stands up and goes over to her, pulling her into a small hug.

"Hey Peeta. I have some good news," Katniss begins as they pull from the hug and she starts to sit down.

"I have some too, but something tells me yours might be better."

"You go first," she prods patting his outstretched hand.

"I talked to my parents and they said they'll discuss whether you can come live with us or not," he runs his hand over hers.

"Well that a step in the right direction," she answers him. "But maybe I won't have to after all. Effie secured a furnished room for me to stay in temporarily while they look for more permanent housing. It's a lot closer than I thought it would be and I don't have to pay rent," she continues and Peeta strokes her hand.

"I'm worried," he begins.

"Why? I'll have my own space and I'll be away from my family who are pretty much the reason I'm here. I'll be able to get to all my therapies and…" Katniss cuts herself off when she notices his slumped posture. "What's wrong Peeta?" He shakes his head before he answers.

"I'm selfish I guess."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I wanted you closer to me," he shrugs as he looks up to her. Katniss blushes and turns away biting her lip. It's true she's allowed herself to realize just how much she cares for him but in her current situation it would be impossible to start a relationship.

"Do you like me Peeta?" She questions looking in his eyes.

"Yes," he answers.

"Even after all of this?"

"I told you it didn't matter," he responds.

"You know I'm not ready for any of that right?"

"I know, but I'm willing to wait."

* * *

Later that afternoon after filing some final paperwork, Katniss is discharged from the hospital and Peeta offers to drive her to her new place. Effie called Mrs. Reynolds beforehand to inform her that Katniss was being released from the hospital and needed to come by the house to pick up her belongings. Although she was upset that she didn't have more time to prepare, she had no choice but to allow her in the house to collect her things. Effie offered to accompany Katniss but Peeta offered instead and she agreed for him to join her.

"So how do you feel being out of the hospital?" Peeta questions as he they drive along one of the main roads leading to her parent's house.

"Strange. I was just getting use to Effie waking me up every morning and now I'll have to do it myself." Katniss laughs dryly.

"What was the deal with her? She was always so cheery. It was a little unsettling," he comments.

"In her line of work I guess she has to be," she replies looking out the window. "You know she used to refer to us as the Star Crossed Lovers of District 12."

"Why?" He laughs as he stops at a red light.

"When I told her about us in high school and that you noticed me but I didn't notice you."

"And District 12?"

"It was where I was located on the unit. Effie's district." Peeta smiles and then pats her hand.

They arrive at her house and suddenly Katniss feels a wave of anxiety wash over her. That hairy feeling in her chest that signals an anxiety attack begins and she clutches Peeta's hand.

"Are you alright?" He questions, his eyes widening.

"I just need my anxiety medication," she points to her bag and Peeta quickly opens it and pulls out two bottles. "Alprazolam," she offers as he finds the correct bottle opening it and handing her a pill and her bottle of water. She puts the pill in her mouth letting it dissolve and then sips some water while closing her eyes and leaning back against her seat.

"Are you feeling better?" Peeta questions as he holds her hand a few moments later.

"Just give me a minute," she requests and they both sit there silently outside of the house. It's nearly fifteen minutes later when she feels alright enough to get out the car and complete the task at hand. They walk up to the front door and Peeta rings the bell. Her mother appears nearly immediately and gives them both a stiff 'hello' before Katniss pushes past her and up to her bedroom. Peeta follows and they find themselves in her room.

"My luggage is under the bed. Can you grab it for me?" Katniss requests and he bends down to pull it out. He opens it across the bed and Katniss begins putting her clothes in it. On the side table he spots her cell phone plugged into her charger so he unplugs it and hands it to her.

"Thank you," she responds shoving it in her pocket and the charger in the luggage. It doesn't take long to pack her clothes, and what remains of her other personal items, she puts in two garbage bags. As they start taking the items downstairs her mother stops them at the foot of the stairs.

"You can stay on the phone plan until it's up in December but we can't legally keep your car on our insurance since you won't be living here." Katniss nods and continues out the door. Mrs. Reynolds hands Peeta the car keys and he takes them. He stands there for a minute looking between her mother and where Katniss stood before picking up the luggage and walking out the door. Peeta puts the items in the trunk of his car while Katniss packs the bags in the back seat.

"Do you have everything you need?" He asks her placing his hand on her lower back as she arranges the bags on the backseat.

"I have everything," she replies sternly but then turns around to pat his arm. "Sorry, it's just," and she waves her hand around.

"It's alright," he pulls her into a hug. "Let's get you to your new place," and he smiles at her. She returns a small one and heads to the passenger seat.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and reviewing and all the messages! I appreciate everything. **

**So a few things,**

**Valium is a benzodiazepine that is used for treating anxiety, drug withdrawal symptoms, and muscle spasms. In Katniss' case it was the drug used to help put her in a state to be receptive to therapy. That was the drug I was talking about before when she was admitted to the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit. I spoke to the pharmacist again about it because I had forgotten the name and he explained to me that it was originally used as a muscle relaxant with patients who were both suffering from muscle spasms and those who also happened to be psychiatric patients. The side effect of relaxing the body to the point of being receptive to therapy was a happy side effect some doctor's used to their advantage to help treat patients further.**

**Alprazolam is also a benzodiazepine used for anxiety It's brand name is Xanax which I'm sure most of you have heard of. In Katniss' case she was prescribed a tablet that would dissolve in her mouth to work immediately for symptoms of anxiety like what was described when she arrived at her parent's house.**

**So Katniss will be living in a furnished room in the city and Peeta's parents are thinking over whether she can come stay with them or not. What do you guys think about that? Well we see that Peeta wants her close by because of his feelings for her, but we also know that Katniss isn't ready for any of that as she is still recovering. It will be interesting to see where this all goes.**

**Also I didn't forget about Annie's visit or the letters. It will be addressed soon!**

**Once again thanks for all the love. It makes writing and sharing this story with you an awesome experience. **


	14. Chapter 13

"Is this it?" Peeta asks as he pulls up to a non-descript brick building that is six stories high. Katniss reads from the paper that was given to her from Effie earlier and looks up at the building.

"Yes this is it. I'm supposed to meet with a Haymitch Abernathy."

"Who is he?" Peeta pulls over and shuts off the car.

"He's the program director and he's also a therapist. I'll be meeting with him starting next week for my group therapy sessions. I guess I'll meet some of the people who will be in my group here." The pair exit the car and enter the building to go to the front desk. A security officer meets them there and Katniss asks for Mr. Abernathy.

"He's right in that office," the man points behind him and they both make their way in. Katniss knocks on the door frame and a dark haired man with stubble on his face looks up from a desk.

"Hello," Katniss begins as she walks into the room. The man stands up and extends his hand.

"Haymitch Abernathy. You can call me Haymitch."

"Hello Haymitch. My name is Katniss Everdeen and this is my friend Peeta Mellark." She explains as they both sit down in their chairs. Peeta shakes his hand and then takes the chair next to her. Her legs twitches a little as she focuses on Haymitch going through a pile of paper.

"Yes, Katniss Everdeen. You were just discharged from Capitol Memorial correct?" She nods.

"I have listed here that Peeta Mellark picked you up from there and would be the one bringing you here." Both Katniss and Peeta nod. "Alright I'll need to fill out some paperwork while I go over the basics of the program." Haymitch hands her a packet of papers on a clipboard, and then wipes his face with his hand sighing. To someone passing by he may look like he's bored but to anyone who works in this field, they would know it's a look of frustration. Haymitch has sat down with many individuals coming into this program and while he's hopeful they will comply and get better, he knows he can't save everyone.

"So I'm the program director here, which I'm sure Effie informed you," he begins. "This program consists of temporary to permanent housing for those individuals and their families in some cases, who have been discharged from the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit at Capitol Memorial who need housing among other services. The first two floors have the rooms for single persons, while there are apartments for families on floors two to six." Katniss nods her head in understanding as he speaks and continues to fill out the long form. Peeta both listens and observes her writing.

"Any questions so far Ms. Everdeen?" He inquires when he notices her tapping the pen to her mouth.

"Yes," she replies with her cheeks turning slightly pink. "They're asking for an emergency contact but I don't have one. I don't really speak to my parents," she bows her head.

"I'll be your emergency contact," Peeta answers before Haymitch can make a suggestion. "Is that okay Haymitch?"

"Sure. Effie has said nothing but good things about you so I'm sure it's alright," he adds and Peeta takes the clip board from Katniss and smiles as he enters his information.

"The other services we offer besides housing include group therapy, limited one on one sessions, and some health services such as a one-time medical work up, family planning and STD testing. There are other young people here so we always have condoms available as well as listings for free birth control," both Katniss and Peeta turn pale at the mention of that but recover as he continues talking about the program.

"There are education services if you haven't finished high school, but I see that you have. There's another counselor who comes who would talk to those interested in college courses or technical training programs; whatever your fancy. I post job listings on that board back there for anyone interested and for some individuals either working or going to school will be recommended." Katniss nods her head. "Anything else I haven't mentioned, you can inquire about them with Effie who has a more extensive listing of other services you may need."

"Finally the rules," he continues. "You are required to attend the group therapy meetings as well as any other services myself or Effie recommend for you. That's the biggest part of the program and what gets some individuals kicked out. We're here to help you and you must make an effort to accept these services or else we will have to ask you to leave so we can make room for others who want to comply." Katniss swallows thickly but nods her head. "You are assigned a unit and it's your responsibility to keep it clean and to report any damages to the in-house staff. There's no curfew for you but there are no overnight guests allowed. Any visitors will have to leave by 10pm. For most people admitted to this program they aren't required to pay rent, but after that temporary grace period either you will be transferred to more permanent housing where that will be discussed, or you will stay here. Unfortunately due to budget cuts there has been some issues with securing permanent housing, so this has become permanent for many individuals. An appropriate rent will be arranged and discussed with myself and Effie."

Katniss considers the new information she has heard and hands Haymitch the paperwork and he goes over it quietly.

"Are you okay?" Peeta whispers to Katniss as she's started to shake her leg again.

"I'm fine," she smiles at him and then faces forward to Haymitch.

"Everything looks good so far on the forms," he comments as he opens a drawer and takes out a set of keys. He pushes the keys toward Katniss and gives her directions to her room. "Move in day is usually on Fridays early in the morning but if you don't have any heavy furniture you can still move in today."

"I have three bags and they're in the car."

"Alright. Also there's parking in the back on a first come first served basis and street parking if necessary. Laundry is in the basement and there's also one in a strip mall a few miles down along with a market, and other stores you'll need. Here is a schedule for the week's events." Katniss takes the paper and her and Peeta shake his hand one last time before heading out the door.

"Are you ready?" Peeta requests as Katniss wraps her arms around her middle.

"Ready," her voice trembles a bit. Peeta slips his arm around her waist and smiles at her as they walk toward her room on the first floor. The room is at the end of the hall with the number '116' inscribed on the door. Katniss pushes the key in and walks into the small unit with Peeta in tow. The first door on the right opens to a plain white bathroom which thankfully looks as if it's recently been clean. They continue on walking up the small stretch of hallway noticing the one closet on the right that when opened looks big enough to hold all of her clothes along with other items on the shelves above. Finally the living area is front of them which is smaller than her room back at her parent's house. There's a twin size captain bed off to the side and a small round table and two chairs that separates the living area and the small kitchenette. There's a tiny sink next to a range and a small counter area where a half refrigerator resides underneath. To be such a small space, there are many cabinets that line inside and over the sink and range, as well as off to the side in the living area. Peeta opens the cabinets and even the microwave that hangs over the range.

"Wow, it's a convection oven too," he comments as he looks at the buttons. Katniss takes in her surroundings and suddenly feels overwhelmed and tears prick her eyes. Peeta notices once she sniffles and finds himself at her side in an instant.

"It's real," she whispers. "I'm in my own place away from my family," and the tears spill down her cheeks. Peeta wraps his arms around her and she buries her face in his chest slowly sobbing.

"It's okay," he whispers to her rubbing her back and holding her close to him. "Are you anxious? Do you need your medication?" He questions as she presses closer to him and he responds by squeezing her gently.

"I'm okay," she responds. "Actually the squeezing is helping. I don't know why." Peeta continues to squeeze and he remembers something about when his mother would feel anxious. His dad would hug and squeeze her like he's been doing with Katniss. He remembers it making her feel better and figures it must have been something he picked up from that.

"My dad used to do this to my mom when she wasn't feeling well."

"Did your mother suffer from anxiety?" She questions her voice small.

"Yes, and depression. She still does at times but she's much better than when I was younger," he responds running his hands down her back again. Peeta leans his chin on the top of Katniss head and they stand there in the middle of her room hugging. After a few minutes and once Katniss has stopped crying, she begins to pull herself away from him.

"Better?" He requests looking down at her. She smiles and nods her head. "Are you hungry at all? I think we should get something to eat and possibly some things for your new place?"

"Sure."

Peeta and Katniss exit her place and head toward the strip mall Haymitch suggested. They settle on fast food consisting of hamburgers, French fries and shakes, before heading to a small convenience department store in the same location. They pick up a simple bathroom set, as well as a few area rugs, three sheet sets, towels, hangers, some dishes and kitchen stuff, a book shelf, cleaning products, and a broom and mop. At the small market there Katniss picks up some basics that can either be poured in a bowl with milk or microwaved; not much of a cook and not knowing how she would in that small of a space anyhow.

When they arrive back at her place Peeta helps her clean; even though it looks clean enough, and then they set up the bathroom. Peeta puts the simple bookshelf together, and then they make the bed and lay out the rugs. Peeta brings in her three bags and they make quick work hanging up all her clothes, putting away her personal items, and arranging her books on the bookshelf. The luggage fits comfortably at the top of her closet along with some other random things she's collected over the years.

"It's so quiet in here. Maybe you'll want a television eventually?" Peeta suggests.

"Or maybe a radio to hook my iPod up to."

When they're completely done, they order in Chinese food and sit around the small table. Katniss pokes at the bowl of water she set up with two lone dandelions Peeta found out front.

"I wish I could have gotten you better flowers," he tells her as she continues to tap on the bowl.

"It's beautiful really Peeta. I remember loving these whenever my dad brought me to the meadow as a kid. It's only fitting I add something to my house that brings me good memories." Peeta nods his head. Katniss smiles at him and then looks at her phone for the time. "Wow, it's already 9:30pm."

"Almost time for me to go," Peeta replies a little sadder than he intended on. "So do you have any plans for tomorrow? I don't have to work at the bakery this weekend."

"I have a meeting with Effie in the afternoon but I also need to pick up my car. I need to find out how long I'll have before I have to find new insurance for it. I also need to change my address among other things," she places her head on the table with a light clunk.

"Remember I'm here with you in all of this so don't hesitate to ask me to do something to help lighten the load," he reminds her stroking her hand with his.

"Thank you Peeta," she responds and begins to stand up. Peeta follows suit and walks over to her and pulls her into a hug.

"Call me if anything alright?" He offers as he runs a hand through her hair.

"I will Peeta. Can you come by early around eight so we can start with everything?"

"Sure." Katniss smiles up at him again before leaning upwards and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. He leans down and nestles his head in the crook of her neck. A warm feeling spreads there and she allows herself to enjoy it before he pulls away.

"Have a good night," Peeta tells her as picks up the small bag of trash the room has already accumulated. Katniss walks him to the door and opens it and he waves and heads down the hall. She closes the door and leans against it and lets herself breath. Thoughts start to run around in her head and it's then when she realizes just how hard she'll have to work this time around to keep things together.

* * *

**Thank you so much for all the positive feedback for the last chapter! **

**Some extras about this chapter.**

**The program and room that Katniss is a part of are similar to one I was in after I left my last foster home at the age of 20 years old. The building had services as mentioned and we were expected to either work or go to school in order to comply. We also had housing subsidies that paid most of our rent and the other portion which came from us depended on our income level. It was a interesting three years of my life living there where I definitely learned a few things about people who had been through similar to what I have in my life.**

**Anyhow thanks again for staying with me and I hope you liked it! Don't forget to leave feedback!**


	15. Chapter 14

_I don't think I thanked you enough for all that you did for me today._

Peeta reads the text message he received on the way home as he exits his car. Even though she's in the city, the drive from her new place is only thirty minutes.

_It's my pleasure honestly._

He responds back to her as he walks into his house. The living room light is on and he hears what sounds like the news on television.

"Hey Peete," his father calls out to him when he rounds the corner into the living room.

"Hey Dad."

"How did it go with Katniss today?"

"Okay I guess. They found her a temporary place to say in the city. We stopped by her parent's house and picked up her stuff and then I helped her move in."

"That's good right?" Mr. Mellark lifts his eyebrows but Peeta doesn't respond in the way he wants. "What's wrong son?"

"I'm just worried about her that's all. She's in this new place all alone and everyone that was in her life now is gone." He looks down as he takes a seat next to his father on the couch.

"It'll be okay Peeta. Don't worry about it. She has you, and your mom and I are trying to come up with something that will help as well."

"Thanks Dad. I'm sorry that I just threw that on you guys yesterday. I just felt so desperate trying to help her."

"I understand. I was enamored with someone once," he smiles and Peeta looks up to him, his cheeks tinged pink.

"So tell me about her new place. What is it like and what are they offering her for her recovery?" Peeta goes through the details of Katniss' place and the services he learned about from the meeting earlier. Mr. Mellark seems pleased but still senses Peeta's trepidation about the situation.

"Let's have some tea," he offers and Peeta follows him into the kitchen just like the other night when his mother offered him the same tea.

Later that night Peeta finds himself tossing and turning in bed preoccupied with how Katniss is sleeping her first night in a strange place. He surmises that she'll get through it just like she did at the hospital but realizes they gave her medication to help her relax and wonders if she has a special bedtime dose to help her sleep.

In the morning he arrives a half hour early and wakes up a very sleepy Katniss with his phone call.

"You're so early," she whispers in the phone, her voice full of sleep.

"I'm sorry. I left my house early because I couldn't sleep."

"It's alright. I couldn't either at first, so I took a sleeping pill. Just give me a few minutes and then I'll call you back when you can come in." Peeta waits patiently in the car until Katniss calls him back to come and join her in her room. Her hair is wet and pulled into a pony tail on the top of her head and she's in a long sleeved tunic and leggings when she answers the door. She still has visible scars on her arms and would rather not explain them to prying eyes when they went out today.

"Hey Peeta," she speaks to him as he walks through the door.

"Hey," he responds leaning down to hug her after she closes it.

"I just need to braid my hair and we can get going. Did you eat breakfast at all?"

"Couldn't stomach anything," he shakes his head.

"Are you okay?" She turns around to him her eyebrows furrowed.

"Just worried about you," he smiles and Katniss walks over to him and places her hand on his arm.

"I'm alright. It was a bit hairy yesterday but I think with each day I'll feel different." She smiles up at him and he returns it. As she walks away to begin braiding her hair, Peeta takes a seat at the table and watches her on her bed, her hands moving furiously as they brings the dark strands together.

"I'm thinking I'll go pick up my car and bring it back here to park behind the building until I can figure something out on Monday. Then we can hit the library so I can use the internet there to change my address."

"Do they have internet here?"

"They do but it's extra, and right now I need to stretch out my savings until I can start working. They gave my job at the school away since I'm not coming this semester so in a few weeks I'll have to look for something new." Peeta nods his head and Katniss stands up as she wraps a rubber band around the end of her braid.

The pair exit her room not long after that and pile into Peeta's car. Thankfully when they arrive at her parent's house she doesn't have an anxiety attack and one car is missing signaling that her family is not home. Katniss gets into her car and follows Peeta back to her place where she parks it behind her building and then she's back in Peeta's car heading to the library.

"I think I may be hungry now," Peeta tells her as they are driving. They decide on a local diner where they both sit in a booth and order gyro platters.

"I haven't had one of these in a long time," Katniss comments as she piles some of the Greek salad on her gyro.

"Me either," Peeta agrees. They eat in silence up until Peeta pushes his plate away after finishing his food. "How are you feeling?" He begins and Katniss looks up to him covering her mouth full of salad.

"Almost full," she smiles.

"No, I mean emotionally?" He requests as his hands finds her on the table.

"I'm okay. Like I said I'm just taking it all in. You don't have to be so concerned Peeta. You can see how I am," and she lifts her hands to show that she's not hiding anything. He nods in agreement and watches her finish her meal.

After paying they both get back in his car and head for the local library. Katniss researched on her phone that the hours were limited today, only ten a.m. to two p.m., so she's surprised to see it relatively empty when they arrive around eleven.

"I thought it would be more people here," she wonders as they walk into the small space. It's nothing like the big one back near her parent's house as this one barely had parking; only four spots out front.

"It looks like an express library," Peeta stifles a laugh and he earns a stare from Katniss. They continue to walk and find the small room that holds the computers. There's only six of them, once again a far cry from her old library, and three of them are occupied. After being redirected to sign up for a new library card at the desk, and having to show the document she received from Effie with her new address on it, she's back at the computers and signs in.

Peeta sits down next to her, as he's not allowed to use a computer because he doesn't live around there, he observes her signing on to various websites to change her address. When she's printed the confirmations and satisfied everything is done she looks at her phone to see how much time she has before having to see Effie.

"Crap," she whispers. "I need to get down to Effie. Can you bring me there? There's a shuttle that leaves around the time I'll be done so I'll be able to get home."

"Are you sure? I could easily come and pick you up," he responds to her as they stand in the aisle of library books.

"It's fine. And plus I need to learn how to use the shuttle just in case I can't get car insurance and have to sell my car." Peeta frowns a bit at her words, not wanting to realize the sacrifices she'll have to make because her parents are basically cutting her off because she's sick. He eventually complies and takes her back to Capitol Memorial for her appointment with Effie. He gives her a long hug before she exits his car and she promises to text him later when she's back home.

Katniss waves one last time as Peeta drives off and makes her way into the hospital and up to Effie's office on the unit.

"Katniss my dear," Effie greets. "I'm so happy you're here. And you look great!" Effie is always excited to see a client and likes to let them know just how happy she is. She surmises it's good for their working relationship and the clients' self-esteem to have someone who wants to see and be around them.

"Hello Effie." Katniss takes a seat at her desk and Effie smiles at her as she takes out a notepad.

"So how are you feeling after your first night? Tell me everything about yesterday." Katniss smiles at her and goes over the details of having a slight anxiety attack at her parent's house when she picked up her belongings but that Peeta was very helpful in securing her medication and being supportive. Effie seems impressed to not only hear that, but at how much he helped her move in and complete errands today. "He's a really good friend Katniss. I'm pleased he's there for you. But I want you to know that you have all of us too. Myself, Dr. Aurelius, and Haymitch. Once you meet Cinna on Monday and start your regiment, you'll find that he's betting on you as well."

The pair continue to sit there chatting about procedural things and sipping on tea when Effie brings up the inevitable.

"So Katniss, did you read the letters you received while you were here?" Katniss looks away as her fingers trace patterns on her tea cup.

"I read Peeta's and Johanna's, but not Annie's or Prim's."

"Why not Annie's?" She questions putting down her cup and taking on a serious tone.

"I think I'm mad at her for how she behaved when she came to see me. She cried the entire time like I was some wounded animal or that I was dying. I hate being pitied, so I rather not read her letter just yet."

"That's fair," she comments. "What about Prim's?" Katniss sighs loudly before crossing her legs and shaking them.

"I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"That she said something in there that would make me want to form a relationship with her. After Peeta told me she was remorseful, I didn't know how to handle it. I know he wouldn't lie to me about that or make it up."

"Did you ask him how she behaved when he saw her?"

"He tried to but I cut him off before he could. I know she told him I was here, and obviously it wasn't malicious because he would have said that, just like when he mentioned my mom slammed the door in his face."

"Why are you afraid of Prim, Katniss?" Katniss eyes well up and she looks down into her cup.

"I don't know how to have a relationship with her after all of this. Her along with my mother and stepfather led me to try to kill myself. I don't know if I can forgive her for that and I'm afraid she said something in that letter that would make me change my mind." Effie gives Katniss a tissue to wipe her face and she pats her hand.

"I'm sorry Katniss," she begins. "This will however be something you'll be discussing in group therapy with Haymitch. There's a few in your group who have similar situations and had to decide whether they would forgive someone who has wronged them or not. Just know that you'll have us and Peeta too to help you get through it." Katniss nods her head and takes a few moments to finish crying and wiping her tears.

A few hours later Katniss finds herself back in her bed taking a small nap after navigating the shuttle that thankfully dropped her off in front of the building in one straight shot. She texted Peeta that she was home and for him to call her in the early evening after he left work. He had too much nervous energy worrying about Katniss so he decided to go in and help at the bakery on his day off.

She lays in bed thinking about Prim and decides to read her letter. She fishes it out of the drawer below her bed that she's put all of her important papers and documents in. The envelope is small and has Prim's name neatly printed in the corner in her own stationary font. Katniss breathes deeply as she sits up in bed and opens the letter.

_Dear Katniss,_

She begins, trying not to let the nervousness and anxiety take her over.

_I'm sorry. I know that you won't believe me at first but I need you to. I love you and what has happened as a result as mine and mom and dad's behavior is unacceptable. I stood by as mom bullied you and even though I knew in the back of my mind it was wrong, I stood there because I was selfish. I guess I still am selfish expecting you to forgive me after all of this. Well I spoke to Peeta and I cried for you. I cried for almost losing you, my big sister who used to be my best friend. My big sister who used to call me her 'little duck' and help get me dressed for school even though you were sad. My big sister who if died that night, would have taken a piece of me with you. I'm so sorry Katniss, and I want to do anything and everything to prove to you that I want the rest of our lives to be different. I want to be your 'little duck' again and I want you to be my 'big squirrel.' I love you and I hope to speak to you soon._

_Love,_

_Prim Reynolds_

Katniss pushes the letter away as the tears that have welled up fall on her face.

"Little duck," she whispers. She hadn't heard that in so long. "Big squirrel," she laughs thinking about the Halloween costumes that brought on these nicknames and she smiles even though her heart is twisted and she feels confused. Katniss decides she needs to sleep and she takes an anxiety pill for the hairiness that is building and places the letter and envelope back under her bed.

Katniss finds sleep quickly and is awoken by her phone a few hours later.

"Hey Katniss are you alright? I've been texting you like crazy," Peeta tells her on the other end.

"I'm sorry I was sleeping."

"Are you alright though?" She lays there letting her head spin a bit and then she answers him truthfully.

"No."

"I'm coming right over," the call ends and she covers her face with her hand.

Peeta is there and security is calling her in house phone to allow him to come in. When she reaches the door he's already on the other side.

"What's wrong Katniss?" He pleads when he sees her red eyes and disheveled hair.

"I read Prim's letter," she answers and he walks over to her pulling her into a hug. "I'm okay," she tells him muffled against his chest.

"God I feel anxious," he responds half laughing, half shakily. He walks her over to her bed with his arm wrapped tightly around her waist and they sit down. Peeta looks down at her face and pushes some of the wild strands of her hair behind her ears. Her cheeks are slightly red from sleep but her skin is still flawless as he begins to stroke her there.

"I'm always surprised that you worry so much about me," she looks up at him, her mouth in a small smile.

"Of course," he adds continuing to stroke her cheek. They sit there for a little while sharing a peaceful moment when Peeta begins to speak again. "What did she tell you in the letter?" He requests.

"That's she's sorry and that she misses how things used to be."

"That's pretty much what she said to me too."

"How was she when you saw her?" Katniss asks placing her hand on his chest.

"Extremely sad and she cried a lot. She wrapped her arms around her like you usually do when you're anxious or scared."

"I bet she was, especially with my mother."

"So do you need to get her out of there too?" He questions now, stroking the exposed skin on her neck.

"Eventually, but I need to focus on me first." Peeta nods before leaning his forehead down to hers and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Would you like to go out somewhere?" He asks her as he stares into her eyes. Katniss thinks for a minute and nods her head.

"Let's go to the promenade."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic for additional information on this chapter and just to chat. Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback and the love for this story!**


	16. Chapter 15

As the pair head toward the lake, Katniss finds herself thinking about Prim. For whatever reason she's starting to feel guilty about her sister even though she knows she shouldn't. Her sister was the favored one for her entire life and even if Prim is having this epiphany now that her parents have mistreated Katniss, Katniss has the right to put herself first.

"We're here," Peeta announces as he pulls into a parking space. He exits the car and waits for Katniss as she does the same. She's feeling a bit shaky from her previous thoughts, and walks slowly behind him. When they reach a comfortable spot, they both lean over the railing staring out into the lake.

"This is where we met a little over two months ago," Peeta speaks thoughtfully as he looks out into the dark lake. The waves gently crash against the pillars as Katniss begins to speak.

"And now we're friends and your my only support system," she remarks sadly. "It's a wonder you even want to be around me with all the trouble I cause."

"Don't say that Katniss," he responds placing his hand on her lower back and making small circles there. She relaxes into his ministrations but tears still begin to prick her eyes.

"It's going to be so hard Peeta," she surmises. "Just with all I need to do in therapy and now that my sister is in the mix. I just don't know."

"I understand but know this; you won't have to deal with this by yourself." Tears start to run down her face and Peeta pulls her into an embrace. It seems to be the only thing these days besides her medication that calms her.

"How will I do this?" She whispers against him. "How did your mom manage? How did you?" Peeta considers her words before leaning his chin on the crown of her head and answering.

"It was really challenging for her and my family. It took us almost being put into foster care for her to realize she needed help," he reminisces.

"What? How?" Katniss looks up to him abruptly and notices his eyes are glassy from unshed tears of his own.

"My mother used to hit us when we were small." He begins and Katniss' heart drops at his admission. She presses closer to him and places her hand to his arm, hoping the physical connection will show him that he has her full attention.

"It started after I was born; they think it was postpartum depression mixed with what she already was dealing with. My dad thought she'd eventually feel better once everything in her body normalized after having me, but it didn't. It progressively got worse until the point she almost broke Rye's arm." Peeta pauses to look away from Katniss and out onto the lake, trying to hold in the tears that are escaping. Her hand flies up now to wipe the tears from his face and her touch brings him back to his story.

"My mother was admitted to the psychiatric inpatient unit in the hospital, and we went to stay with my father and his parents." Katniss has the overwhelming need to protect him now; especially since she's just found out his mother mistreated him as well.

"I remember being so scared," he continues. "I didn't know if she was going to be what I called 'sad mommy' or 'happy mommy.' I was so young and didn't understand completely so when she would hit us and then turn around wanting us to be close to her, I would do what she asked. I loved my mother but her behavior confused me." Katniss continues to wipe his face and also brush his curls off his forehead and behind his ears. She never breaks her gaze on him and gently nods her head to signal him to continue.

"I would go to school with marks on my stomach and would be withdrawn which wasn't my usual nature. I had to tell my teachers I wasn't feeling well and that my stomach hurt, but they would laugh and say I ate too many sweets from the bakery or something. It was always a joke with my brothers and I. No one knew the truth." Peeta's face is red as tears continue to stream down his face.

"That was why I had issues with being affectionate with people, specifically with girls in a relationship. I had trouble differentiating what that hug or kiss they wanted would mean. I was afraid to trust anyone and found myself feeling extremely uncomfortable when I was put in that situation. I found that some girls were upset I wasn't forward and others tried to push themselves on me which basically sent me running," Peeta laughs dryly. "I didn't know how to have a normal relationship with boundaries. That is until I met you." Katniss smiles up at him and clears the fallen tears before speaking.

"I can't believe you went through all of this," she starts. "You helped me so much and so freely, despite all that you've been through. You're so well adjusted; I would have never thought you went through so much abuse."

"Well it took many years for me to get this way," he smiles, tears still falling down his face. "And that's why I know you'll get through it. It was hard but we all worked at it to get better. I won't let you give up," he whispers to her leaning his forehead against hers.

"Thank you," she replies. "I don't want to give up but it seems everything is so real now that I'm away from my family and out of the hospital. I'm having a hard time remembering everything Dr. Aurelius told me when it comes to dealing with all of this."

"It takes time but going steadily to therapy helps. You'll see," he tells her softly as he caresses her cheek. Katniss and Peeta stand there in an embrace listening to the other breathe when a question pops into her head.

"How are you able to have a normal relationship with me?" She wonders looking back up at him.

"I just always felt you were different. When I read your stories and poems, and saw how you viewed the world around us, you seemed so interesting. I knew you wouldn't be like the others and I found that to be true when I finally started to spend time with you."

"Oh," she shakes her head. "It never gets less surprising when you say things like that to me. That you were actually interested in me before. I thought I was too withdrawn or boring for anyone to notice."

"I noticed," he whispers.

Soon after Katniss and Peeta head back to her place where he drops her off. She promises to call him in the afternoon when she's back from her meeting with Dr. Aurelius.

"Hello Katniss how are you?" Dr. Aurelius speaks to her as she takes a seat in his office. He's meeting her in his office that located in the clinic on the ground level of the hospital.

"I'm alright doctor. Just adjusting that's all." She goes on to tell him about her anxiety attacks while at her parent's house and while she moved into her new place as well as reading Prim's letter.

"A lot has happened in these few days it seems. I'm glad your medication worked and that you had Peeta there for support." Katniss nods her head. "So let me go over your schedule for the next few weeks. We decided you'll take this semester off but we're hoping by the Spring you'll be able to attend classes." She fidgets a little but continues to listen to her doctor.

"On Mondays and Fridays you'll meet with Cinna for different exercise therapies that will help you with mild anxiety and depression symptoms. On Tuesdays and Thursdays you'll have group therapy with Haymitch and on Wednesdays and Sundays you'll see me. Saturdays will remain the days you'll see Effie but she might come and visit you at your place on random days. Does this all seem manageable?"

"I think so. I was hoping to work a bit though so I can afford to keep my car."

"I understand. We need to see how your therapy goes first before I can recommend you holding a job. I don't want to throw too many things at you all at once." Katniss nods and they continue to discuss more in depth her treatment plan.

When Katniss leaves his office and heads to the bus stop, she feels exhausted and decides to get right to bed once she arrives back at her place. Katniss agrees that so much has happened and it hasn't even been two full days since she's been out of the hospital.

Her bed is soft and comfortable once she lies in it and with the air conditioner steadily cooling her room; she wraps herself in the blanket Peeta bought her as a house warming gift. She thinks back to what they discussed last night and appreciates him even more. He's such a strong individual and she feels lucky that he'll be in her life to help her finally get better; well get to a point where she can function at least. She wants to be optimistic but she's also realistic. It will be difficult adjusting to an entire new life after living a certain way for so long.

"Good afternoon sunshine," Peeta greets as he walks through Katniss' front door. She called him about an hour ago to ask him to come over to have a late lunch with her.

"More like late afternoon. It's almost four," she smiles as he place a cloth bag on the table.

"I brought some fresh bread from the bakery. Why don't we have sandwiches?" He suggests. Katniss walks over to the refrigerator and pulls out all the necessary ingredients and places them on the table, beginning to break the bread and arrange everything on them.

"For you," she says as she hands Peeta his sandwich and she takes her half sitting down across from him at the table. They eat in silence but Katniss can't help but look at him. It's something from last night that makes her feel different about him.

"What?" Peeta requests as he wipes mayo by the side of his mouth.

"Nothing," she smiles looking down at her sandwich. Peeta shakes his head and goes back to eating his sandwich. When he catches Katniss staring at him again he lays down his sandwich.

"Alright Katniss, what's up? You're acting a little weird all of a sudden."

"I was just thinking about last night," she blurts out. "You shared something so personal with me. Why?"

Peeta considers hers words before he responds.

"I trust you."

"You trust me?"

"Yes. We've been through a lot in the last few months and I felt comfortable enough to share that with you," he answers her as he picks at his sandwich.

"Wow," she recovers.

"Don't be surprised. You trust me don't you?" He requests.

"Of course I do. How could I not? You've done so much for me and without even knowing me that well. It's just so," she cuts herself off and Peeta reaches across the table to take her hand in his.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he tells her softly. They finish their sandwiches and after Katniss clears the table they both arrange themselves on her bed, with their backs against her headboard. Katniss is looking through one of her notebooks while Peeta plays a game on his phone.

She feels warmth spread on her arm as Peeta's bumps into it as he fidgets and moves around his phone while playing the game. Katniss studies his profile as he sticks a tiny bit of his tongue out attempting to win at his game.

"You look really cute when you do that," she boldly tells him.

"I'm trying to beat this stupid game once and for all," he groans as he loses his last life. "That's it I'm done," he concedes and looks over at Katniss. "Did you just say I looked cute?" He smirks at her and she feels her face warm.

"Um," she stutters and his smirk turns into a smile and then she feels his fingers on her sides tickling her.

"You did Katniss," he teases and she laughs mercilessly, squirming under the tight ministrations of his hands as they tickle her. She falls back onto her bed with Peeta on top of her still tickling her.

"Okay, okay," she shouts half laughing and gasping. "I did," she smiles at him. "I said you looked cute. You had your tongue sticking out a bit," she reaches for his mouth and taps his lips.

"It's my concentration face," he breathes as he hovers over her completely stilling his movements. Her hair is messy and her braid almost untangled at the thrashing about she was just doing. Peeta reaches down and places a few strands behind both her ears before helping her back up into a seated position.

Katniss lets out a deep breath as she takes out her braid to redo it.

"Wait," Peeta whispers. "Can you leave it out? I've only ever seen your hair down a handful of times. It always looked good on you." Katniss continues untangling her braid and then runs her fingers through it to bring is loosely over her shoulders.

"Like this?" She questions and he nods his head.

"You look beautiful," he tells her as he inches closer to her. She feels that magnetism again and moves closer to him as well. She looks down at his hands that are in his lap and places hers on top of them, feeling the heat radiate from his skin onto hers.

"Thank you," she finally replies. "You're really warm." She runs her fingers along his forearm letting the blonde hairs there tickle her fingers.

"It's the ovens," he remarks moving his arm that's not being tickled by her to gently lift her chin. She stares into his deep blue eyes and they slowly turn black as he inches closer to her mouth, licking his lips to ready them. Her hand travels from his arm to his chest and it lands there over his heart where she feels it beating steadily.

Small movements continue between the two of them until they are as close as if Katniss was in his lap. He wraps an arm around her waist and caresses her face with the other before crashing onto her lips.

Soft sounds escape her as he gently kisses her, letting her know how much he's missed being this close to her and how much he wants to stay like this. Katniss receives his kisses and snakes her other hand around his neck and into the curls that line the nape of his neck. He groans softly as her fingers slip into the small hairs moving back and forth creating a pleasurable feeling on her fingers and for him on his scalp.

Peeta pulls her closer until she finally straddles his lap, sitting there as their lips dance. He rests his hands on her waist, gripping it tightly as they continue to kiss. They continue until they're breathless and only smiles remain on their faces as they stare at one another.

"You're really good at that," Katniss remarks finally after catching her breath and he grins leaning down onto her forehead.

"You're pretty good yourself," and Katniss chuckles allowing both of her hands run through his soft curls.

It's nearing the time for Peeta to leave and Katniss untangles herself from his lap and stands up, helping Peeta get up off her bed. He leans down to kiss her once more before he goes to gather his things to get ready to leave.

"I'll stop by the bakery next week in between all of my meetings."

"Sounds good. I look forward to it," he replies putting his bag over his shoulder. "Have a good night Katniss. I'll see you soon." Katniss nods and walks him to her door. She can't help but to stop him before he opens it to leave, and reach up to kiss his lips one last time. The final smile on his face as he leaves her warms her to her core, leaving her smiling long after he's left to go home.

* * *

**Thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback as usual! Sorry it took a bit to update but this chapter proved to be difficult to write. I wanted it to come out just right as Peeta shared his back story with Katniss. I wanted her reaction to be realistic as well as Peeta's to her continuing issues. I love writing Peeta as the knight in shining armor, but I had to scale it back a bit.**

Let me know what you thought! Thanks again.

**Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic!**


	17. Chapter 16

"There are a few things you can try whenever you start to feel an episode of anxiety or depression start to take over. We're first going to start with breathing exercises that work well for anxiety." Cinna begins his lesson looking over at the small gathering of ten students in the physical therapy lab located in the hospital. He introduced himself earlier as a Physical Therapist who has worked with all types of people ranging from athletes to police officers who were hurt in the line of duty. He also did some personal training work which is why he was chosen to hold these exercise therapy classes. Cinna's main goal was to help put people back together with his own style of therapy.

"Alright everyone, sit up straight and let's start with a deep breath in," Cinna softly speaks to them. Katniss sits up straight on her yoga mat and breathes in and closes her eyes listening to Cinna continue.

"That's good Katniss," he responds when he sees her close her eyes. "And breathe out. Feel free to close your eyes if it helps." Some of the other students close their eyes as they breathe out.

"Once again," he softly commands and the group breathes in. "Now focus on the sound of my voice as you breathe in again. When you're by yourselves it will be helpful to focus on something while you're breathing to help the process along." The group continues their breathing until Cinna tells them to stop.

"Okay that's a good start everyone. Now the breathing should have helped you all relax a bit more if you weren't already. Now we can start on exercises to help with episodes of both anxiety and depression. So stand up everyone." Cinna goes over to a radio and puts on some soft calming music. "We're going to start light and then built up to a more rigorous exercise. Physical activity is the key to helping push negative energy out of our bodies. I'm sure your primary doctors have already suggested you all do some sort of exercise so I'll just give you some other alternatives than what you can do outside, like running, walking, or playing a sport. There are many things you can do in the comfort of your own homes that help just as well."

Katniss arranges herself on her mat at Cinna begins swaying gently to the music.

"Follow my movements," he tells them and the group watches him and repeats. He starts off slowly with simple stretches and swaying of his body to get them ready to bring up their heart rates. Katniss watches him and follows, finding herself catching on easily to his movements.

After a few minutes of warming up he changes the music while jogging in place and starts a simple aerobic routine.

"Now this will bring up your heart rate and cause your brain to release those pleasure chemicals that will help squash those bad feelings. Now try to keep up," he shouts as he starts to move a bit faster. Part of the class is lost and the other is keeping up with him marginally. Katniss stumbles a bit but finds her niche.

"Come on," he shouts. "Let's get this," and he pumps his legs up and down and Katniss follows. She doesn't even notice how hard she's begun to sweat but she admits to herself that this feels good. She can imagine herself doing this on a day when she doesn't feel well.

"Great job guys," Cinna praises as he changes positions to watch the group moving to the music and his instruction. There are some scattered giggles when an older man in the corner starts doing something else when he can't keep up with Cinna.

"That's good," Cinna tells him. "Just keep moving. That's all that matters." The group continues to move and soon after they begin the cooling down phase where they do some breathing exercises while slowing down their movements.

At the end of the class Cinna goes around shaking all of the group member's hands and when he comes to Katniss he smiles and winks with her hand in his. She notices gold eyeliner on his eyelids and smiles to herself thinking that this class will be interesting. She gathers her things and as she walks over to the elevator a young girl walks up to her.

"Hello," she says softly and Katniss turns around to the girl who looks to be the same age as Prim. She has dark curly hair and big brown eyes that could put a smile on anyone's face.

"Hi," Katniss responds.

"Oh, you've probably never seen me, but we live in the same building. I'm Rue Stevens," she puts out her hand and Katniss shakes it.

"Katniss Everdeen."

"Yes, Katniss," she smiles. "I saw you when you moved in on Friday and that tall curly blonde guy that was with you." Katniss smiles as her cheeks heat up.

"He's my friend Peeta."

"Cool." She nods smiling up to Katniss. "Well I'm taking the shuttle back home. My mother is at work right now so she couldn't come and get me."

"Me too," Katniss adds as she steps into the elevator that opens up before them. On the way to the shuttle bus stop the two continue to talk and Katniss finds out that Rue is 14 years old and lives upstairs with her mother. She talks about random things like school and what she thinks her mother will make for dinner tonight, and Katniss can't help but wonder why she's in the building. She doesn't want to pry but continues chatting with the young girl on the bus and until they reach the building and go their separate ways.

"Nice meeting you," Rue calls out and she walks to the elevator in their building. "I'll see you around." Katniss smiles and waves as she turns down the hall and toward her room. Katniss walks into her room locking the door and turning her phone back on after shutting it off for her class. As it comes on she starts peeling off her clothes in the middle of her living area and bends down to pull out underclothes that are stored under her bed when she hears it beep to remind her of unheard voice messages.

Katniss heads to the bathroom for a quick shower before listening to her messages and thanks herself because the hot water feels good on her worked muscles. She sings to herself as she showers and soon after she's wrapped in a towel sitting on the edge of her bed applying body lotion. When she's done she reaches for her phone and sees there's a voicemail from Dr. Aurelius and one from an unknown number. She puts on the speaker and plays the one from the doctor as she begins to get dressed.

_Hello Katniss. I hope you enjoyed your class with Cinna today. I just wanted to call to tell you I came into my office and found an interesting message on my voicemail. It was from your father; Ruben Everdeen. Please call me back so we can discuss this and then hopefully you can stop by this afternoon. Thanks. Speak to you later._

Katniss stops her movements as she plays the message, and then repeats it over in her head. She looks at her phone and figures the other message may be from her father. Anxiety starts to creep up in her chest and she immediately starts her calming breathing she learned today. She focuses on the steady whir of the air conditioner and it steadies her. After a few minutes of breathing she feels better, but the hairy feeling still lingers. She decides to take a walk outside to see if that helps, but first she needs to call Dr. Aurelius back.

"Hello," Katniss begins when Dr. Aurelius picks up.

"Hello Katniss. Thanks for getting back to me. I assume you heard my message?"

"Yes," she responds shakily.

"Good. I spoke to your father and told him to contact you as well. Has he?"

"I think so," she murmurs. "I haven't listened to the message as of yet."

"Alright well I think you should listen to it and come by so we can discuss it. Are you available this afternoon?"

"I am. I think there is a bus coming in a half hour or so."

"Alright, just come to my office once you get here." Katniss thanks him and hangs up the phone then finishes dressing. She decides to take a quick walk around the block before heading to the bus stop and waiting for the shuttle. It arrives only a few minutes later and she's on her way to see the doctor.

_Hey, how are you?_

Katniss reads the text from Peeta and suddenly feels her stomach jump, but not in a good way. She remembers the euphoria of last night where she flirted with Peeta and then they subsequently kissed, but it seems she woke up feeling different entirely. While she really appreciates what Peeta is doing for her, she can't let herself get lost in him because it might take the focus off of what she needs to accomplish. They are both aware there isn't time for a relationship now but it seems that pesky magnetism keeps creeping up on the both of them whenever they are in close proximity of one another.

_I'm fine._

She replies back shortly hoping he doesn't catch her true feelings through her text.

_How are you?_

_I'm okay; just have to work late tonight. We got a big order in for a local church and since I have the fastest hands, my parents want me to ice the cupcakes. It's an order of 200!_

_I'm sorry you're stuck at work._

_It's fine, I guess this will be my life now that I'm part owner of this place. _

Katniss reads over his last text carefully and thinks about what her future will look like now. It's the beginning of her first week alone and she's already tripped up with news of her father inquiring about her. She's too nervous to listen to his message now on the phone and settles for when she gets to Dr. Aurelius' office.

Her phone buzzes and brings her out of her daze and she looks down at the new text from Peeta.

_I wanted to come over tonight to see you again, but it will be late when I'm done and I know you have a new schedule to keep up with._

_It's okay. We can reconnect in a few days._

Why had she suggested a few days apart? She doesn't want him to think something is up but she could use the time away from him to settle her head.

_A few days? I don't think I'm that busy. Unless you are? Are you sure everything is alright?_

Crap, she chides herself when she reads his response. Peeta saw right through that.

_I'm alright. I just have a few things to catch up on with Dr. Aurelius. Nothing important._

It's a few minutes before he responds back and she can feel the hairy feeling in her chest from earlier increasing.

_If you say so. Call me if anything. I need to head back to work; my break is over. I'll see you soon. Have a great day._

_You too._

After responding to his last text she breaths in and out a few times to reconnect her thoughts. Hopefully after a few days away she'll have handled whatever her dad wants and things can go back to semi normal. She also hopes by then she can figure out a way to tell Peeta that they really need to get back to just being friends, no matter how much both of them enjoy kissing.

Twenty minutes later as she exits the bus she finds her mind clearer than when she got on. She takes that as a good sign that whatever happens with her father she'll be able to process it and use the techniques she has learned to help.

"Hello Katniss. Come sit down," Dr. Aurelius greets her as she walks through his office door. She takes the seat next to his desk and gives him a small smile. "So let's get right down to it. Your father called me and he asked about you. We had reached out to him when you were here at the hospital and he told me he had just received the message when he came back home over the weekend after his vacation. Did you listen to his message yet?" Katniss shakes her head.

"I understand you may be afraid, but it's important that you do. Please go ahead," he points to his desk and Katniss complies fishing out her cellphone from her pocket and laying it on the table. She scrolls through the menu and plays her father's voicemail after touching the speaker button.

_Hey kiddo, it's me, Dad. I just received some shocking news that you were in the hospital. I tried to call your mother but she only gave me a vague answer to what happened. I called the doctor that was treating you and left a message. He told me I should call you which I'm doing now and that he'll try to set something up between the three of us. Is something going on Katniss? I'm actually a little nervous that he couldn't tell me the specifics of what happened to you over the phone. Anyhow please call me back when you get this alright. I love you. Talk to you later._

Katniss shuts off her phone and turns to face forward and look at the floor of the doctor's office. She doesn't know how to feel about her father calling her and it was unusual for him to call her 'kiddo'. She was literally a child the last time he called her that. Katniss thinks to herself that maybe he does know why she was in the hospital but is in denial.

"So where do we go from here?" Katniss inquires.

"Tell me how that message makes you feel," he answers.

"Weird. He only called me 'kiddo' a handful of times when I was small."

"How did he treat you when you small?"

"He ignored me once he married his wife, and the two sons were in the picture; one hers and the other both of theirs. He only acknowledged me on my birthday, Christmas, or some other special event for school, but it wasn't warm."

"Okay." Dr. Aurelius scribbles on a pad of paper. "I wanted to wait to tell you this, but I want to have a meeting with your family. A one on one meeting with each of them. I think we can start with your dad, and then your sister, and lastly your mother. How do you feel about that?"

Katniss stares at Dr. Aurelius and wipes her palms against her jeans. "I don't really know."

"It doesn't have to happen right away, but I do think you need to see your father soon. He doesn't know what has happened to you and since you are out of the hospital and can make medical decisions for yourself, I can't tell him on your behalf." Katniss nods her head.

"I'll think about it." With that her and the doctor speak for another half hour or so before she heads back to her place.

When she gets home she lays in bed mulling over what her father said and the new decisions she has to make regarding him. Why didn't her mother just tell him what went on? She had no problem telling Peeta when he had stopped by her former house. She surmises that she did that to turn Peeta away from her. That backfired, she thinks to herself because it seems he's closer to her than he's ever been before.

Just as she's about to doze off for an early evening nap, her phone buzzes and she looks at it and sees a text from her father.

_Hey Katniss it's your father again. I called you earlier but the number probably didn't show up. It was the throw away phone I used when I went on vacation. I was calling because a doctor from Capitol Memorial called to tell me you were hospitalized. Are you okay honey? Please text me back if you can't call, to tell me you're alright. I tried speaking to your mother but she's seems angry about something and she said that I'd tell you. She also mentioned something with Prim being sick. Anyhow please text me back. Love you._

Katniss starts to shake and her stomach begins to hurt. Why is she having such difficulty speaking to her father about this? She decides then to send him a quick message just like she sent to Peeta earlier to in hopes of also keeping him at bay.

_I'm fine Dad. Just wasn't feeling well and so they kept me a few days. I'm alright now. Thanks for calling and texting. Speak with you soon._

She'd hope that would be enough as she pressed the send button but when he replied back, her stomach hurt more.

_Are you sure? I checked up on your Doctor on the hospital website and it said he was a Psychiatrist. Why would a psychiatrist call me to tell me you were hospitalized?_

Katniss freezes there and pushes her phone away from her on her bad. She can't deal with all the questioning right now so she stands up and attempts to recreate the routine she did this morning with Cinna. Just as she starts swaying to imaginary music, her phone rings now instead of vibrating for a text. She looks over and it's her father. What is she going to do now?

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**Thanks for reading! I've been working on another story for the Fandom4lls Charity and so that is why this story has been updated the last two weeks on Sunday. However I am nearly done, so the next chapter should come sooner. Find me on tumblr at anais117-fanfic or lenai17 so we can chat and you can read the extras! Thanks again!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the long wait for an update but thanks for sticking with me!**

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Katniss stares at the phone as it continues to vibrate on her bed. Her father already called all the way until the voicemail picked up and now he's calling once again. She's sitting back on the bed still staring at it until once again the voicemail picks up a second time. When the phone doesn't immediately ring right away she lays her head back on her pillow, sighs and closes her eyes. Katniss is exhausted and needs a nap, so she lets the tendrils of sleep begin to take her away. She's in the beginnings of sleep when her phone starts to ring again. Instinctively she grabs for it, and when she does she opens her eyes to decline the call but to her surprise it's Dr. Aurelius.

"Hello Katniss," he begins when she picks up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," she responds after clearing her throat.

"Your father called me and he's worried about you. He said you two texted earlier but you wouldn't answer the phone when he called." The phone goes silent after he finishes with no response from Katniss. "I know this is hard for you, but I think we need to have that meeting with the both of you sooner, like tomorrow after your group therapy around two o'clock. Then on Wednesday in our private session we'll discuss it. How does that sound?"

"Okay," she murmurs after a few moments. Katniss is too tired and stressed out to deny his request and besides the faster she gets over with this, the faster she can get back to her life. She bids the doctor good night and ends the call. Her head lolls back against her pillows and she finds sleep again.

Somehow for the rest of the evening and into the early morning she sleeps, but her empty stomach eventually wakes her up. Katniss is disorientated when she wakes, almost knocking over her side lamp as she stretches her arms and uses them to push herself up. She picks up her phone and sees that it's nearly three in the morning so she decides to pour herself a bowl of cereal. As she sets herself down at her table, she scrolls through her phone and finds a few more text messages from her father, and one from Peeta.

_Hey Katniss. I finished the cupcakes a little after midnight and found that I made a few extras when I counted them into the boxes. I wanted to save a few for you but by the time I see you again they may be a bit stale. Anyhow I'll text you sometime tomorrow to check up on you. I hope you had a good day today._

Katniss closes out the text messaging application and pushes her phone away from her. In that moment she wishes she hadn't told him she'd see him a few days. It would have been nice to sit up against the wall on her bed with him next to her snacking on cupcakes and chatting about random things. Even though she has these feelings for Peeta that she keeps debating back and forth whether she'll try to pursue eventually, he is her friend too after all.

Katniss finds herself back in bed and after mulling around the thoughts of seeing her father after her group therapy later on in the day, she falls asleep. In the morning she's awoken by her phone ringing and when she reaches for it, it's neither her doctor nor her father. It's Haymitch.

"Good morning Katniss, are you up?" Katniss rubs the sleep from her eyes and looks back down at her phone and see it's nearly eight in the morning.

"I am now," she responds groggily.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew that the group therapy meeting was moved to 10am instead of noon."

"No I didn't know."

"So you didn't read the memo under your door?" Katniss thinks back to the sheet of paper that was pushed under her door yesterday and figures that must be what he is talking about. She had ignored it and threw it out.

"No."

"Well in the future if you see anything there please read it. If I don't hear back from you when I try to call or send you an email, I'll slip a memo under your door."

"Alright," she replies swinging her feet over the side of the bed.

"I'll see you soon then. Looking forward to your first meeting with us." Katniss replies with a simple, 'mmhmm,' and hangs up the phone. She reluctantly sets her phone down and heads into her bathroom to get ready for the day.

She quickly showers and moisturizes her skin before putting on a simple pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. Katniss once again pours herself a bowl of cereal and scrolls through her phone. The messages from her dad are all the same with him telling her that he misses her, he won't judge her on the reason why a psychiatrist contacted him on her behalf, and that he can't wait to see her again.

It was on her graduation just a few months ago when she last saw her father and he was less than enthusiastic about seeing her then. Katniss remembers the awkward hug and congratulations he gave her after she walked across the stage, and the clumsy attempt at caring with the few hundred dollars he stuffed in her graduation card. He hadn't even filled the card out. She wonders how he would feel knowing his daughter tried to kill herself. Would he cry or would he be angry with her like her mother had been?

A round of tremors rack throughout her body as she thinks on it and with that she closes her phone. After washing her face when she is done having her cereal, she notices the time and sees it's around nine-thirty. She decides she'll get there a little early.

The group meetings are held in a classroom on the first floor of her building where they usually hold their GED classes. When she walks through the door no one is there but on the dry erase board she sees there are some math problems still up from what she assumes the last GED class that was held there. The chairs are arranged in a semi-circle and she takes a seat off to the side of it, and takes out her phone fiddling with a game she downloaded that Peeta recommended.

As she sails through the level, she doesn't notice the other residents steadily coming in. To her surprise Rue walks in and sits next to her, gently bringing her out of her game playing daze when she softly calls her name.

"Hey Rue," she begins slightly off. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh I am," she smiles. "There are two sessions, for the young people and one for the older individuals; usual our parents." Katniss nods her head. "Have you ever had group therapy?" She inquires as Katniss puts her phone on vibrate and slides it into her pocket.

"No, it's my first time. I've only ever been to one on one therapy." Rue nods her head.

"I like them both, but it's nice to share your story with someone who may have been through something similar and is your age. It feels like they understand more you know?" Katniss nods her head at her and they both turn their attention forward when Haymitch walks in and begins to speak.

"Good morning everyone. I'm glad you all could make it. I hope the schedule change wasn't too inconvenient, but today I needed to head to another appointment around noon so I had to push this session. Is everyone ready?" There's a collections of 'yeses' and nodding of heads as the seats fill the circle around Haymitch's chair.

"So a quick announcement," Haymitch begins. "We have a new participant in this program," and he looks over at Katniss. "Katniss," and he points to her. She gives a half wave to the room before returning her attention to Haymitch. There are a few 'welcomes' and 'hellos' before everyone turns back toward Haymitch.

"Does anyone want to begin?" Haymitch requests looking around at everyone. The session starts off with a young man probably around Katniss' age discussing his struggle with drinking for the past few days. He discussed his past briefly; living with an abusive and alcoholic stepfather after his mother died, and how when he thinks of his mother or his step father, his urge for alcohol increases. Katniss watches him as he speaks and she feels bad for him that not only was he depressed, he turned to alcohol to help sooth his pain. She surmises her cutting was her form of alcohol and thankfully she hadn't had the urge to do that since the last time she did it and almost ended her life.

The next person goes; another young man, and he discusses how his depression over the last few days put him in such a funk. He does mention that despite that, he was able to write a meaningful poem he hopes to turn into a song one day. Katniss slightly smiles at him when his gaze lands on her as he talks and looks throughout the small classroom. She understands how your mood affects your writing and can help create something magnificent even if you don't feel like that's what you could create.

Haymitch shifts some papers in his hands as he asks for the next volunteer. After a few tense moments of no one beginning to talk, Rue decides to speak about her life the last few days. Katniss smiles at her as she folds her legs and begins.

"Hi guys," she begins. "The last few days have been really interesting for me. My mom's been working extra shifts trying to save up money so that we can finally afford a place outside of this program, so for the most part I've been alone," she pauses and looks around and then down at her fingers. "When I'm alone I tend to think a lot about everything in my life and those thoughts land on my brother Thresh. It's been nearly a year since he committed suicide and I found him hanging in the basement of our old apartment building, from one of the steam pipes there," she pauses again wiping at her eyes and Katniss instinctively wraps an arm around her. Rue smiles at her gratefully as Haymitch walks over to hand her a tissue. It surprises Katniss that she comforted Rue at a drop of a dime, but it seems she reminds her of a little sister she fantasized about having after her own turned into something she didn't recognize anymore. Rue needs protecting and that's what older sisters do for their younger siblings.

"I miss him so much and I tried not to let the anxiety or depression creep up when I thought about him," she continues after a few moments of Katniss hugging her and patting her back. "So I tried to sing to the songs that were our favorites but it only made me feel worse. My doctor recommended I do this so that no only I feel a connection with him, but I could get out some of the negative energy, but it didn't work this time. I wanted to exercise but I know I'm only allowed an hour a day which I complete as soon as I wake up. I complied with that alternating with other outlets for my depression but one day I just couldn't shake the feeling of missing him, so I relapsed." The room is quiet as she speaks but a few sympathetic sighs ring out when she mentions her relapse.

"I exercised until I threw up and I didn't feel any better, just more depressed that I let it get that far again. I called my doctor and after an emergency meeting with him I felt better about it. For the next few days I only exercised at my allotted time, and was able to go to Cinna's class yesterday and participated without over doing it." Rue smiles up at everyone and there's a slow clap that goes around. Katniss smiles at her as well as whispers that everyone was going to be alright.

It's only fifteen minutes left in the session when Haymitch asks Katniss to introduce herself to the group and tell them something about herself. She immediately freezes but with the gentle prodding of Rue who's smiling up at her with big brown eyes, she decides to share.

"My name is Katniss," she begins slowly. "This is my first week here, I just moved in on Sunday," she pauses looking around the group. Everyone's face seems reassuring but she's still nervous. "I'm here because I can't live at home anymore because my depression led me to try to kill myself," she mumbles with all the words running together. Her face is hot having to admit that to a group of strangers, but she reassures herself that this is helping to share her story. The other stories helped her to reflect on her life and she guesses that maybe hers will help someone else as well. When she looks up again there are faint smiles on most people's faces with just a few others looking as if they're concentrating on something.

"I'm trying to get better so that I can start working soon and then hopefully attend college. I'm looking forward to this session helping me in my struggle and to getting to know everyone. That's it," she ends her small speech and there's scattered clapping around the room. Haymitch begins to talk again and he thanks her for sharing as well as the others. When the session is over and she walks past Haymitch, he gives her a small smile and a thumbs up.

Katniss finds herself walking slowly with Rue to the elevators in complete silence as they both seem not to know what to say to the other.

"Thanks for sharing your story," Katniss begins. "You're really brave and strong to have gotten through so much in your life."

"It wasn't always easy," she looks up at Katniss. "All I have is my mom now and we both try to be strong for the other." Katniss nods. "Thanks for sharing your story as well and comforting me back there," she goes on. "I forgot what it felt like to have that since my mom isn't home much and Thresh is gone." She gives Katniss a small smile and then waves at her when she starts to walk into the elevator. "I'll see you on Thursday Katniss," she tells her as the doors closes on her.

"See you," Katniss whispers to herself as she waves to the closing door.

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**Thank you so much for reading this chapter. Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic. **


	19. Chapter 18

**Bonus chapter because I've been so behind. Hope you all enjoy!**

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"Good afternoon Mr. Everdeen, Katniss," Dr. Aurelius begins when both parties are seated. Katniss is staring at the floor as has been since she saw her father waiting outside of his office for her. He tried to approach her with a hug, but it was awkward to say the least. Katniss just stood there as he wrapped his arms around her. He seemed genuine in his actions but she knew better to let her guard down and trust him.

"Good afternoon," the two of them reply with Mr. Everdeen looking between Katniss and Dr. Aurelius. Katniss is alternating between staring at the floor and her hands unable to look at either at them. She's not really mad at her doctor but more so nervous about what she'll have to say in front of him again but this time with her father reacting.

"So I brought you both here so that you can discuss what happened with Katniss a few weeks okay. I'll let you start," he pushes his chair away with his arms opened and pointing to Katniss. She sighs but lifts her head and stares at his desk.

"I've been depressed," she begins shakily and clearing her throat. "And everything was just too much so I starting doing things that hurt me and eventually I landed here in the hospital."

"What are you saying Katniss?" Her father scoots to the edge of his seat on the small couch toward Katniss who is sitting in the single chair that's next to it.

"I tried to kill myself dad," she finally admits and she looks at him. His face goes white and he starts to mouth a few words sending Katniss' stare back into her lap.

"What? How? Where was your mother?" Dr. Aurelius pushes his chair closer to her father trying to steady him and Katniss stays frozen in her chair with her hands clasped and on her lap. She can't look at her father even though she hears him sputter words and finally the choking sounds of tears. "Katniss, you tried you kill yourself?" He starts and then covers his mouth. Mr. Everdeen is crying hard now and Dr. Aurelius has sat next to him and is patting his back and handing him tissues. Katniss is still unmoved.

"Yes," she finally answers still looking away.

"Katniss, please look at me," he pleads but she ignores him. "Please," he demands now slightly raising his voice. Katniss gives in and turns to him with a scowl on her face but it softens when she sees his red face and tears running down his face. "My baby girl," he chokes out with his arms extended. Dr. Aurelius gets up and tries to coax her over to him. She looks between them and with a huff she gets up and sits next to him. He pulls her into a hug and sobs onto her shoulder.

"Tell me everything, please. Tell me why you hurt yourself like that. What happened?"

Her father has her in a tight embrace as he tries to coax the words out of her but all she feels is lost. Lost that he's here trying to get something out of her she doesn't want to talk about and lost that he's crying over it.

"I didn't think you'd care," she finally speaks lowly to him. He pulls back and looks at her bewildered.

"What? Of course I care Katniss. You're my daughter and I love you. Contrary to whatever our lives has been, I love you. Please don't forget that," he searches her eyes and she feels her eyes begin to water but she's not sure why.

"I've been depressed for as long as I can remember and I always felt left out. When mom married Glen and when you married Sophia, I fell to the wayside. I was a product of a failed marriage and had to fit into two families I felt didn't want me."

"Katniss I want you. How could you think I didn't?"

"Because you've always been distant with me and I know Sophia hates me."

"She doesn't hate you," he corrects wiping his face.

"She doesn't like me," she answers wiping a stray tear on her face. "Can you imagine how that felt growing up with a mother who preferred her new family over you or a dad who was too busy with his to realize how you feel?"

"I'm so sorry Katniss. I didn't know. You've always been quiet and I just thought you wanted space so that's what I gave you over the years. We did have you over to our house and I'm sorry if you felt Sophia wasn't nice to you." Katniss shakes her head.

"Why didn't you try to get closer to me dad? Why did you leave it at my being a quiet kid? I wasn't quiet, I was just lonely and neither you nor mom cared enough to make sure I was alright. I blame mom a lot for how I am now, but you get some of that blame too." Her father continues to wipe the tears running down his cheeks as he listens to Katniss speak.

"What did your mother do and why didn't she tell me about any of this? I didn't even know you were depressed. Were you on medication?" Katniss nods her head.

"Since I was 16."

"She never told me that either. And when I called her after Dr. Aurelius called me, all she said was that you would have to tell me what happened. Did she push you to try to kill yourself?" Mr. Everdeen's face trembles as Katniss looks down at her knees. She's shaking and he sees that so instead of waiting for her answer, he pulls her close to him into a hug. "It doesn't matter. You don't live there anymore so that's all over. She at least told me that." He rocks Katniss in his arms and starts crying all over again as he whispers apologies to her. Katniss tries to keep her emotions in but she can't. For once she's being comforted by one of her parents and it's just what she needs.

The two cry into one another for a few minutes before her dad pulls away from her again. He wipes her face with his hands and then hands her a tissue to blow her nose.

"So where are you staying? Your mother said you were at a friend's house but something tells me that's not all the truth."

"I'm in a program. I have my own place in a building in the city."

"The city?" He exclaims. "That's so far away. Do you still have your car?"

"I do but I don't think I can insure it. I don't have a job yet and I need my savings for other things."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of that. And I think you should move in with me and Sophia if your mom doesn't let you move back in."

"I don't want to live with her," she shoots at him. "I rather stay where I'm at now. It's less stressful knowing I'm only answering to myself and that I'm ruining whatever expectations a parent has for me."

"Alright," he nods his head. "I'll give you that, but there's some other things I want to do for you to help you feel more comfortable then. Can you take me to your place?"

"Alright," she answers after a few minutes.

After tying up some lose ends with Dr. Aurelius and setting up an additional appointment with the two, Katniss and her father leave the building. It's a weird feeling as she walks toward his car, realizing it's been a long time since they've been alone like this.

Mr. Everdeen takes Katniss' hand as they drive to her place. She punched her address into his navigation as soon as they entered the vehicle and has been quiet ever since.

"So I'm guessing you're not going to school this semester?" Katniss nods.

"Well I'm going to give you that money that would have been spent on tuition to help with your savings. I'll also add your car to my insurance as one of mine, and let you drive it. I trust you are a good driver," he looks at her and she nods her head. "I'm really sorry that I dropped the ball on this Katniss. I was too preoccupied with everything else and kind of let you raise yourself. I honestly thought you were just a quiet child. I tried to be there for all the big moments but I guess I should have been there for the little ones as well." Katniss nods her head again as they continue to drive to her place.

When they finally arrive and check in, Katniss leads him to her room.

"The building is nice," he comments as they walk through her front door. She walks ahead of him and takes a seat on the edge of her bed as her father walks around. "It's small," he comments again. "Are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable living with us? I just finished our basement last year and it could all be yours. Private bathroom, living room space, and your own entrance."

"It's fine dad, thanks anyway." Mr. Everdeen takes a seat next to her on her bed and pats her hand.

"So tell me, what are they doing for you in this program?" Katniss goes on to tell him all the services they offer and he nods his head in appropriate parts of her speech. "It seems it's beneficial for you to stay here I guess. I just want you closer now after all that I found out today. It's all so surreal what you've been through. Are you friends being good to you?"

"Most of them are off to college right now, but I still have one. His name is Peeta, his family owns the Mellark bakery where I used to live." Her father raises his eyebrow at the mention of Peeta.

"A young man?" He responds. "He's not your boyfriend is he?"

"No dad, he's just my friend."

"Are you sure? He's not trying to take advantage of you during this hard time of your life is he?"

"No dad," she repeats smiling to herself. It's almost comical how protective he's becoming all of a sudden. "He's actually been a tremendous help for me. He moved me in here and went shopping with me and has been there to talk with me about everything. Peeta is most definitely not trying to take advantage of me."

"Well if you say so. I'd still like to meet him though to make sure he understands that I'm in your life too now. I'm sorry it took this for me to realize I needed to pay closer attention to your needs."

"It's alright dad, you didn't know."

"I should have though," he remarks sadly.

As Katniss washes her hands in the bathroom she looks at herself in the mirror and thinks about her father who is still sitting on her bed in the other room. She feels euphoric that he's here for her, but also she's weary that something will happen that may alter their relationship again. Sure he'll offer all these things to help her out, but what if his wife doesn't agree? He has to consider his other family too even if he doesn't think he has too.

"I'm starving Katniss, why don't I take you out to dinner and maybe some dessert at that bakery your friend works at." She chuckles lightly at him and then they're on their way out the door. They settle for a diner in her old town and they find themselves chatting about random things. Her father talks about his vacation and how her step brothers behaved while they were away. It seems almost normal to her to be talking to him like this and she tries her best to stay in the moment and not to think about the past which will make her mood shift.

After paying the bill they head toward Peeta's bakery and she starts to feel anxious about her dad meeting him for the first time. Peeta seems to be great with talking with people as he does it all day at work and she's sure he'll get her father on his good side in no time. She wonders though how he'll react to her showing up at the bakery and with her father no less.

When they enter the bakery there are few customers at the display cases pointing out what they want to Peeta who has a bag in hand to place their confections. When he looks up and sees Katniss walking in, a look of shock and relief flood his face. They get on line behind the others and Peeta seems to hurry up so that he can get to them before his brother Rye can who is taking the customers ahead of them. When he's finally rang them up and smiled at them for the last time he walks over to Katniss and her dad.

"Hey Katniss. I'm surprised to see you here." She smiles at him shyly before turning around and introducing her father.

"My dad," she begins and Peeta sticks his hand out.

"Peeta Mellark," he introduces as he shakes his hand.

"So I've heard," her father responds and Peeta slightly pales. "Ruben Everdeen, but you can call me Mr. Everdeen." Katniss laughs a bit before walking over to the display cases.

"What would you like?" He asks as he recovers and looks toward Katniss.

"Five cheese buns and some bottled water." Peeta nods his head and prepares her order.

"Are you staying or…" he trails off.

"You can put it in a bag but we're going to stay." Peeta nods his head and brings over the bag and bottled waters. Mr. Everdeen pulls out his wallet to pay and then they grab the items and walk over to the table to sit down and begin to eat the cheese buns.

"These are really good," her father compliments as he bites into the bun for the second time.

"They're my favorite."

"Lucky that you are friends with one of the staff here. He can make you all the cheese buns you like." Katniss smiles to herself and she feels her cheeks warm.

"He's actually part owner of the bakery," she tells her father and he nods his head.

"Good for him," he answers biting into the bun again.

"You know we're just friends. You didn't have to grill him like that. He nearly fainted." Her father smiles at her.

"Like I said earlier, he needs to know I'm here for you now as well." Katniss nods her head as she goes back to eating her cheese bun. A few minutes later, Peeta arrives at their table to ask how everything is coming along.

"Really good Peeta as always," Katniss responds and he gives her a warm smile.

"They're alright," her dad responds looking up at him.

"Dad," she scolds and he breaks out in a grin.

"Okay, they're very good," and Peeta smiles down at him.

Her father goes to wash up in the bathroom and Peeta takes the chance to ask her to come to the office in the back of the bakery. She scurries behind him and stops only once they're on the other side of the door.

"So was he the reason why you were busy?" Katniss nods her head. "Are you alright with him being here? I didn't think you had a good relationship."

"We don't but I think it will be different this time around." Peeta nods his head.

"Are you alright otherwise?"

"I am." Peeta takes her hand and squeezes it before walking closer and pulling her into a hug.

"I know I just saw you on Sunday, but I really miss you." She looks up to him into his blue eyes which are now shining.

"I missed you too. I'm just trying to figure out everything but then other things seem to pop up and they distract me."

"Like what?" He inquires squeezing her hand again.

"Us," she responds and the small smile on his face fades.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm conflicted with everything. I know I care about you and I want you around but then I don't want to tax you with my problems or lead you on with hopes of a relationship I can't fulfill yet."

"It's okay Katniss. I understand but know this though, you're not taxing me with what's going on. I told you I'd be there for you no matter what."

"What about the other stuff?" She requests placing her hands on his chest while he wraps his arms around her waist.

"What other stuff?"

"The kissing and the hugging?"

"Oh," he thinks to himself. "Well we will do whatever we're both comfortable with and take it one day at a time. Just so you know, if we kiss I don't expect you to marry me the next day," he teases. "I know it's a part of being affectionate with someone you care about." Katniss considers his words and then responds.

"It doesn't make me feel less guilty for doing it knowing I can't offer you more."

"I'm satisfied with what you offer me now. I just worry more about what I can give to you," he speaks as he places his forehead on hers.

"You give me a lot Peeta. You give me things I didn't think I needed." He smiles down at her before leaning down and pecking her lips with a kiss. She can't help contain the smile on her face as she feels warmth spreading from the spot he kissed.

"Will I see you tomorrow Katniss?" Peeta asks as he places a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes. You can come over for dinner if you're free."

"That sounds great. I actually have something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

"Alright," she smiles up at him and with one last kiss she's out the door and back to the front. Her father looks at her puzzled when he sees Peeta walking behind her from the back of the bakery. He ducks back to his workstation, washing his hands before handling the next customer.

"What was that?" Her father questions.

"Oh nothing, just catching up from the last few days." Her father nods but something tells her he doesn't quite believe her story.

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**Once again, thanks for reading. Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Hey Guys! I always like to thank everyone for the support of reading and reviewing my story. It really does mean a lot that I can share this story with you guys and get such positive feedback along the way!**

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Katniss and her father leave Peeta's bakery and find themselves at a branch of her father's bank opening up a savings account for her where he deposits the money he had promised. She can't help but feel uncomfortable as papers are passed to her to sign and her father fills out additional paperwork to transfer the money. He keeps looking at her adoringly and that seems to prompt the staff at the bank to keep mentioning how much they look alike. The final bank teller that handles their transaction even decided to say, "Wow someone must be Daddy's favorite." Katniss strained a smile and her dad seemed to soak it all up.

"Nothing but the best for my baby girl," he had responded and it just made Katniss feel weird. The entire day since she had the meeting with her father she felt something else besides the initial euphoric feelings of finally seeing him, telling him the truth, and confronting him. Even though he apologized and got on board to help her, she still felt it was all out of place.

Their next stop is back to her place to gather information on her car so that he can go to the DMV in the morning to change the registration and insure her car soon after.

"Is there anything else you need?" Her father inquires as they drive back to her place. "Maybe groceries or some items from the drug store?"

"Not really."

"I noticed you didn't have a television. Did you want to pick one up so you can get cable installed?"

"I can't afford that," she responds as she looks out the passenger window.

"I'll take care of that Katniss. Whatever you want or need, I'll take care of it." Katniss rolls her eyes and then continues to look out the window. "I saw that," her father announces. "What is the matter Katniss?"

Katniss sits there for a moment contemplating how she's going to tell her dad what she feared would happen once he found out the truth about her.

"I feel like you're trying to buy my love," she finally admits still not looking in his direction.

"What?" He questions. "I'm just trying to be there for you and pick up the pieces. Your mother basically kicked you out without me knowing the full truth about you situation, and since you don't want to come live with me and Sophia, I need to make sure you're safe and taken care of now." Katniss can feel the heat rising in her face and knows she's minutes away from blowing up.

"I'm just uncomfortable with it," she tells him in a strained voice.

"Uncomfortable with what?" He turns his head to her as they sit at the red light.

"With all of this attention. In one day I see you cry and you give me more affection than I can remember ever getting from you in my entire life. You try to intimidate my friend; who is just my friend by the way; because you want to show that you're in my life now. And now you're going to register and insure my car, you gave me a few thousand dollars in a savings account; which I know is way more than what one semester of community college costs, and you want to buy me a TV and cable among other things. It's just all too much," she concedes placing her face in her hands.

Her father pulls the car over into the parking lot of a large chain drug store before shutting the car off and looking over at Katniss.

"What do you want me to do then Katniss? I've failed you enough and now I'm just trying to make it right. I don't know what else to do." His voice is quiet as he rests his arms against the steering wheel looking out at the people walking to their cars.

"I don't know," she finally whispers to him.

"Well I'm still going to take care of your car and I'm not taking back the money or the presence in your life that may be scaring your little friend. You need those things. If you don't want a TV or cable or anything else, I can understand that." His voice is strained as she talks to her; a mix between anger and feeling hurt.

"Fine," she answers him now scowling at the dashboard.

"You're so stubborn," he tells her. "Just like me when I was your age and even older, and I think that's why I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life."

"What was that?" She turns to him after a few minutes.

"Leaving you and your mother."

On the way back to Katniss' place the car is quiet and just the sounds of the road and the whirr of the air conditioner are heard. When they arrive she walks him over to her car where she hands him the envelope that holds all the information he needs.

"Do you want to have dinner with me?" Her father asks as Katniss walks him back to his car.

"I'm not really hungry," she replies. "I'm actually a bit tired. I have an early morning with Dr. Aurelius so I was actually going to get some sleep."

"Alright," he replies. "Just call me if anything okay? Maybe you can come over this weekend and see everyone?"

"I'll let you know," she responds knowing that she'll most likely decline his offer. It's just too much, too fast. He nods his head and smiles before enveloping her in a hug. "I love you sweetheart," he whispers to her before letting go and getting back into his car.

For the rest of the night Katniss' thoughts bonce between her father, all that he wants to do for her, and strangely Peeta. She prefers to think about Peeta because she knows for sure he's genuine in his actions. Her father on the other hand, she feels he's just doing these things out of guilt. While she appreciates him saving her car and giving her money, she feels the sentiment is misplaced and much overdue.

In the morning she rises early and does the small routine that she learned with Cinna. While she doesn't feel anxious, she likes feeling like she's working out her body. Katniss wasn't really the athletic type, but did enjoy gym class back in high school. When she's finally done she showers and pours the last bit of cereal out of the cereal box. She goes to her phone and makes a list of the food she'll need to buy as her initial stores are getting low.

The shuttle bus pulls up just as she makes it to the sidewalk and she walks in giving the driver a small smile. On the way to her appointment she sends Peeta a text to ask him what he wants for dinner tonight.

_You know since it's your place I'll have to cook right?_

_No I couldn't expect you to cook. I invited you so I'll do it. What do you want? Pasta? Chicken?_

_I wouldn't mind Chicken Parmesan._

_Hmm. I don't think I know how to make that. I'll see if I can print out a recipe in the office._

_How about we do this instead. You make the pasta and I make the Chicken Parmesan?_

_No I really don't want you to have to cook because of my lack of skills._

_It's not a problem Katniss. I would really be honored to cook with you. It'll be fun._

Katniss looks at his text for a few minutes before conceding.

_Alright Peeta, you got me. We'll make it together._

Katniss smiles into her phone as Peeta just basically convinced her to let him cook at her place. It would be the first time a dinner of sorts that would be made in her house since she's only been eating bowls of cereal and sandwiches. She thinks it'll be exciting to do something normal with Peeta that doesn't involve what their encounters had usually consisted of.

Dr. Aurelius is sitting at his desk when he welcomes Katniss into his office.

"How are you doing today Katniss?" He begins as she sits down.

"I'm okay I think," she nods her head.

"So tell me how it has been seeing your father again and reconnecting."

"Weird I guess. He offered to do a lot for me yesterday that I'm not used to getting from him, or anyone that matter. It made me feel uncomfortable."

"Did you tell him how you felt?"

"I did."

"And his response?"

"He asked me what I wanted him to do."

"What do you want him to do?"

"I don't know," she responds lowering her head. "I know I want him there for me, but I just don't know how he should go about it."

"Well that's something you need to think on and then discuss here in session with myself and eventually with your father." Katniss nods your head. "So tell me what he offered to do for you." Katniss goes on to discuss what her father did already and what he offered.

"That's not a bad start in my opinion. I don't think you would have been able to insure your car without a parent, unless you had a lot of money to spare. Also giving you the money he would have spent for your tuition this semester helps you out a great deal. I understand why you rejected the other superficial gifts, but don't be afraid to accept what you actually need, from him. Remember that he is trying and he may make mistakes at the beginning." Katniss nods her head as she listens.

The pair continue discussing her father and then the usual about how she's been dealing with her depression and her thoughts on her first group therapy session. As she leaves Dr. Aurelius' office she receives a text from her father confirming that the car is re-registered and that it is now on his insurance. They make arrangements for him to stop by at the end of the week to bring over the proof of insurance.

When Katniss arrives back home she makes herself lunch and then cleans up to prepare for Peeta's arrival later on in the evening. When he does get there, he greets her with two grocery bags which she takes from him as he envelops her in a half hug.

"What did you bring?" She inquires as she starts unloading the bags.

"Everything we'll need for tonight," he responds as he begins to unpack the second bag. Katniss notices he bought fresh tomatoes instead of a jar of sauce.

"Are you going to make the sauce from scratch?" Katniss finally asks him when she notices some herbs and spices he takes out of the bag and he nods his head. "How do you know how to do all of this?"

"Well my grandmother on my mother's side is Italian and when we alternated staying with her and my dad's parents when we were little, she would show me things. Her specialty was tomato sauce and Italian bread. She actually helped my dad with our famous bread recipe."

"Wow," Katniss speaks. "My grandparents didn't teach me anything like that and my mom loved to hoard the kitchen so I'm really only know the basics."

"It's alright. I'll help you as we go along," and Peeta smiles at her easily earning one from her in return.

The pair begin the task of preparing the sauce which includes cutting up the vegetables which Katniss isn't terrible at, even though her cubes of tomato could be neater. When it comes to cleaning and preparing the chicken to be breaded though, she's better at that than Peeta who seems to get a bit queasy when she trims some fat and tendons from the otherwise lean meat.

When the sauce is finally simmering and her room smells likes a small Italian restaurant, they begin coating the chicken in egg, flour, egg again and then bread crumbs before laying the pieces in a thin layer of oil in the pan. Peeta cuts thin strips of mozzarella cheese while Katniss observes the chicken cooking.

About fifteen minutes before the chicken is done, Peeta boils a pot of water where he pours in a box of Farfalle pasta even though it's not traditionally served with Chicken Parmesan, because it's Katniss' favorite.

When the pasta is done, he combines some of the sauce with the pasta while bringing a dish of it to the table in which he pours over the crispy breaded chicken before laying a piece of cheese on top and then another layer of sauce. He pops the pan in her convection oven/microwave to melt and crisp the cheese further.

When everything is done, Peeta plates the chicken after Katniss serves them both a helping of pasta. Before they can dig into their food, they both decide to take pictures on their phones to commemorate the first meal they made together.

Katniss smiles as she starts to eat the food and can't help but moan in approval; slightly louder than she intended, when she finally tastes the sauce that has been wafting throughout her place. Peeta's cheeks tinges pink as he listens to her, allowing his brain to travel somewhere naughty, before coming back to reality.

"This is really good Peeta," she praises as she continues to fork the pasta in her mouth.

Peeta smiles at her eagerness and replies, "I'm glad you like it." He wants to bring up the important news he wanted to tell her about his parents but doesn't want to interrupt Katniss' new love affair with dinner.

Finally when she's on her second plate, he decides to break the charm the food has on her.

"Well my parents finally got back to me on how they want to help you," he begins and Katniss' head shoots up almost comically because she's literally mid-fork in the air.

"What did they say?" She swallows.

"Well they want to meet you. They want you to come over for dinner this weekend if you're available so that they can talk to you face to face."

"What do they want to talk about?" She stills her fork on her plate.

"They do know that you're staying in this building so they didn't feel rushed to offer you to move in with us, but I think they came up with another solution to help you out."

"Like what?"

"I think they want to offer you a job at the bakery. Since Brandon is opening up another location across town, Rye will be splitting his time between the two and may even eventually go over there permanently since he'll have more control over that location. While he's on the legal paperwork for this location, it's split between myself and my parents and my mother is pretty strict with how things are run. My mom's behavior toward us has improved over the years, but their relationship is strained and I think Rye has been waiting for this opportunity since he graduated high school two years ago to get away from her," he explains the last part sadly and Katniss nods her head. "I think I'm the only one that can deal with her honestly. Well besides my dad anyway so it would be great to have someone else there I know and can talk to."

"That would be interesting," she begins. "Working at the bakery with you and your family."

"It would be. Who knows, maybe you'll fall in love with it like I did," Peeta smiles at her and she returns it.

"Maybe," she adds. "Thank you Peeta," she reaches over to squeeze his hand and he nods his head.

After a small third helping, Katniss wobbles to the sink and makes quick work of the dishes and packs away the left overs, leaving them on the stove to cool off before intending to stick them in the fridge later.

"I'm so tired," she yawns rubbing her food belly. "I think I'm going to take a nap." Peeta looks at her and raises his eyebrows before standing up and running his hands down his jeans. It's only about seven in the evening and he had planned to stay for a bit longer, but figures that he'll give Katniss her space.

"What are you doing?" She asks him when he starts putting his shoes on.

"Heading out. I don't want to disturb your nap so…" he trails off.

"You don't have to leave," she tells him. "I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to join me." Peeta looks at her a bit strangely and his mouth opens but no words come out.

"You what?"

"I wanted you to join me," she repeats. "I trust you can handle a nap for an hour with me and then maybe we can go out somewhere."

"Really?" He looks at her completely dumbfounded.

"Yes Peeta," she yawns again as she heads for her bed. She sets herself down and inches over before patting the side of the bed where he would lay down.

"You're bed is so small though. I don't want to knock you off by accident," he tries to tell her.

"Well then we'll have to get closer," and she lays her head down on her pillow. Katniss doesn't know what makes her so bold tonight but some part of it is the wonderful meal he just made her and the tendrils of sleep pulling at her as her body processes it.

"Okay," he finally agrees shucking off his shoes again and getting on her bed. Katniss sets the timer on her phone for an hour before lying back down to face Peeta. She nearly laughs at him when she notices how he's nearly falling off the edge of the bed in avoidance of touching her.

"Can I lay on you?" She finally requests smiling up at him and he complies extending his arm. She closes the space between them on the bed and lays her head in the crook of his arm. The smell of sauce is on him but underneath that she smells bakery items, including her favorite, cheese buns. Katniss buries her nose into his chest and he reflexively wraps his arms around her.

"You always smells like food," she murmurs against him and he smiles.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He wonders aloud.

"Good because it makes me hungry and now that I know you are a great cook, I can get free food out of you," she teases. They both laugh and Peeta turns into her and pulls her closer to him.

"Good night Katniss," he whispers kissing her forehead and she responds placing her hand on his chest.

They lay in this embrace and with the combination of a rich dinner and the usual magnetism they both share when they are close, they sleep much past the allotted hour. When her phone goes off, Katniss turns it off without even waking up; only slightly turning to slide the bar on her phone and then cuddling closer to Peeta who in his own deep sleep pulls her closer.

When Katniss finally wakes up, it's in a dark room and for a moment she's disorientated not remembering right away the hard chest she's pushed up against. When she turns on the side lamp and sees Peeta's sleeping form, she nearly jumps. He's snoring quietly and his wild curls are wilder as their hour nap turned into nearly half a night of rest. When she reaches for her phone she sees the alert for her time having gone off and surmises she shut it off in her sleep. It's nearly two in the morning and she gasps when she realizes that Peeta is here past the time limit for guests. She wonders why security hadn't called her, but remembers Peeta mentioning they let him in without signing him in. It completely valid to believe that when the overnight shift came in, they probably weren't made aware of him even being there.

Katniss shakes him quietly, watching as he comes back to life with mumbles and protests.

"Peeta," she whispers. "We overslept."

"Huh?" He responds wiping his face. His voice is deeper and scratchy.

"It's nearly two in the morning."

"Crap," he responds sitting up abruptly. "I need to go," he says as he swings his legs over the side of the bed.

"Don't go," she states before realizing it.

"What?" He turns to her, his voice still a bit groggy.

"It's so late and you're half asleep. I wouldn't feel safe with you driving this late." She can't believe the words coming out of her mouth but knows them to be truthful. It is really late and she's sure his parents wouldn't want him traveling at this time.

"Alright," he smiles crookedly. "Let me send a message to my dad," and he stands up and walks over to the table to get his phone. When he disappears into the bathroom to contact him, Katniss gets off the bed to put away the food from last night.

"Done," Peeta tells her when he walks from the bathroom a few minutes later. He runs his hands through his messy curls before setting down his phone on the table. They both stare at the bed from the kitchen area as they think about the fact that they'll be sleeping next to one another for at least five or six more hours. Suddenly Katniss starts to feel embarrassed and Peeta notices her pink cheeks.

"What's wrong?" He inquires walking over to her.

"Nothing," she responds not looking up to him.

"Katniss?" He asks again closing the space further.

"What did we just do?" She finally answers.

"Took a nap," he states.

"Yes, but what else?"

"I don't know."

"We slept together," she responds biting her lip and Peeta chuckles.

"With actual sleep," he teases. "Are you suddenly shy about sleeping next to me? After dinner you were all warm and fuzzy about it."

"It was the food talking," she defends.

"Yes, but nothing has changed. Well except you're not in a food coma anymore," he laughs. "It's just more sleeping. You trust me don't you?" Peeta places a stray hair behind her ear.

"I do."

"It's funny because you were just convincing me of this." Katniss laughs to herself as Peeta extends his hand.

"Together?" He asks.

"Together," she replies and they both walk over to her bed.

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**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the fluffy goodness at the end. Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic!**


	21. Chapter 20

Somehow in the morning Katniss and Peeta wake up in a heated kiss with Peeta's arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. They don't know how it all started but neither is willing to end it. Perhaps the buildup to this moment started shortly after they fell asleep the second time and Katniss woke up to use the bathroom. When she returned Peeta pulled her close without even opening his eyes and when his lips brushed against hers, it sent a jolt of electricity through her face and caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach. He murmured something about needing her to be able to sleep, but was snoring again soon after saying it.

Later on in the night Katniss woke up with Peeta missing and she nearly panicked thinking that he had left to go home without saying goodbye. When she heard the flush of the toilet and the sound of the sink turning on and off, she felt relief wash over her. Peeta quietly left the bathroom trying to tip toe back to bed, but alas he's a loud walker. Katniss smiled up to him when he was closer and he apologized for waking her up.

"It's okay," she told him as they cuddled back into position and this time she placed a small kiss on his lips. Now they were kissing relentlessly and Katniss couldn't get enough of his mouth on hers. He slid his tongue teasingly there and she let out a low moan. Her hands were smoothing up on the back of his head and scratching over his sweet spot on his scalp. Low groans were escaping him and heat began to pool into both of their abdomens.

This was all new to both of them, kissing someone so deeply and they didn't really know what else to do next; that is until Katniss spoke the first thing that popped into her head.

"Touch me," she breathes and Peeta stills his movements and searches her face.

"Are you sure?" He asks and she nods smiling slightly at him. Their relationship was complicated as neither were ready for an official title, but they both knew what they wanted and would allow from the other.

"Do you want to?" She requests, placing her hand on his chest and he nods his head quickly before crashing his lips into hers again. Peeta had dreamed about what it would feel to touch Katniss hoping that one day it would come true when she was ready for it. He was shy but he trusted her and was willing to open himself to her.

As they continue to kiss, Peeta slides his hands experimentally on her abdomen above her clothing. He doesn't think she meant under the clothes just yet, and besides he doesn't think he could handle feeling her soft skin at this point. Peeta runs his hands up on the soft cotton material of her tank top and her breath hitches as he reaches up and just under where her breasts end and then he retreats to her sides and then lower back. Katniss arches against his movements and Peeta's mouth drops down to her neck where he begins to place soft kisses there.

"Yes," Katniss murmurs and her light voice sends a jolt into Peeta's shorts. He moves away from her slightly not wanting to unnerve her with what's growing in his shorts. They definitely aren't ready for that.

Peeta nibbles at the sensitive skin on her neck while she draws patterns on his chest. Just when he's about to dip into the crook of her neck, Katniss' god forsaken phone goes off and this time they're both awake enough to hear it. Katniss chuckles when Peeta stills his movements groaning slightly, and she turns over to shut off her phone.

"Unfortunately I have to start getting ready for my group therapy today," she huffs. Peeta nods his head before leaning down to kiss her gently. "Do you have work today?"

"In the afternoon."

"Alright. Maybe we can hang out again tonight?" She asks hopefully.

"Sure, I would like that."

And it seems the day can't go fast enough for either of them. Peeta decides to go in early to help out with some of the more intricate orders while Katniss sits in her group therapy trying to appear solemn as more of her program mates discuss their struggles over the past few days, and some even before that.

Katniss is half listening and half fantasizing as her group mates begin their discussion. She claps at the appropriate times but it's hard to stay focused when all she wants is the feeling of Peeta's warm hands again.

"Would you like to share anything?" Haymitch asks her and it snaps her to the present.

"Um, no," she begins. "I'm alright for right now," she recovers and Haymitch looks at her strangely before suggesting someone else to start to share. When the group session is over Katniss walks over to Rue and decides to ask her over to her place for lunch if she's not busy.

"Sure Katniss, that would be great," she responds and just as they begin to walk out of the classroom together Haymitch speaks.

"Katniss can I see you in my office for a few minutes?"

"Sure," she replies looking at him and then back at Rue. "Can I call you when I'm done so you can come down?" She asks her.

"Sure, I'm in Apartment 4D. My phone number there is 4210." The pair part ways and Katniss walks ahead of Haymitch to his office.

"Hello Katniss," he begins as he closes his office door. "There are a few things I need to talk to you about," he points at the chair where she takes a seat and then walks over to his and sits down.

"You seemed a bit distracted in group today. Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," she manages a few minutes later. "Just a little tired maybe."

"Well I acquired some information this morning about you that I wanted to discuss. Security mentioned that your friend Peeta left your room this morning." Katniss gulps and then looks away.

"You know you're not allowed to have overnight guests, right? When you're in this program you need to comply or else you risk getting kicked out. And I think you should be focusing on your recovery and not a relationship." Katniss head shoots up with a death glare and Haymitch moves back in his chair slightly. How dare he assume something about her when he barely knows her? What is he her father or something?

"First off, it's my business what relationships I'm in and if I choose to discuss it with anyone it won't be you. Secondly, it was an accident that he spent the night. We fell asleep and when we woke up…" She starts but Haymitch cuts her off.

"I don't need the details sweetheart," he tells her and her cheeks heat up. "Just don't do it again alright. You get one freebie and then I'll have to start writing these things down." Katniss shakes her head and then stands up from her seat.

"Can I go now?" She asks folding her arms and tapping her foot.

"Go ahead," he gestures her to the door sighing and she rushes out. "These kids nowadays," he mumbles as he picks up his coffee mug to fill it.

Katniss nearly stomps back to her room and slams her door a little too loudly and walks further in.

"Who does he think he is lecturing me," she speaks to herself as she walks around her small space. She's nearly running an indent in her floor when she hears her door bell ring. Suddenly she remembers she was supposed to call Rue to invite her down for lunch. Katniss is at the door in seconds and looks out the peephole where Rue is looking up to her.

"I'm so sorry," she offers as she invites Rue in.

"It's alright. I came downstairs to check the mail and decided to stop by to see if you were back. Is everything okay with Haymitch?"

"It's fine," she smiles at her despite the feeling of bile rising in her throat thinking about what he said to her.

"So what's for lunch?" Rue asks as she sits down at her table.

"Oh," Katniss begins. "My friend and I made chicken parmesan last night and we have a ton of left overs. Would you like some?"

"Sure," she responds brightly and Katniss begins to prepare the plates for the microwave. "I like how you set up your apartment," Rue mentions as Katniss pops the plates in and sets the timer. "I've seen some other people's rooms and they don't seem to pull it off as well as you did."

"Thanks. I really tried to make it comfortable and Peeta helped me a lot."

"Your _friend_?" She questions lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes my friend," Katniss chuckles turning back around to look at the plates twirling. "Has anyone been kicked out the program for unauthorized overnight guests?" Katniss asks a few moments later.

"I'm not really sure. Sometimes they let people slide depending on the situation. I had a cousin who stayed in our place a few months back and they didn't mention anything to us. We did get clearance though."

"Clearance?"

"Yes from our social worker. We had to prove she had nowhere else to stay and that it was only a few days at most. Were you thinking of getting clearance for your _boyfriend_?" Rue laughs.

"He's not my boyfriend," she scowls but her face softens when she sees Rue smiling.

"It's fine," she holds up her hands in mock surrender. "I won't tell anyone," she continues to laugh. "Besides you're not the only single tenant here sneaking in their significant others. It gets lonely sometimes here especially when you don't have family or friends."

"Do you sneak boys in?" Katniss teases and Rue shakes her head.

"No," she smiles. "Because I'm not there yet, but if I was I would if I cared enough about them. I've only seen you with Peeta a couple of times around the building and I can tell that you two care about one another."

"You can see that?"

"Yes Katniss," she laughs again. "Magnetism is magnetism," she cites as she begins to dig into the plate of food Katniss has set in front of her.

The pair continue to chat about things as they enjoy their lunch and Rue comments on how good everything tastes. She even tells Katniss that the usual saying of 'the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach,' surely applies in reverse in her situation. Katniss smiles shyly at her statement but knows it to be true.

After they clean up the dishes, she decides to take a walk with Rue to the strip mall that's about half a mile away. They pick up some items from the drug store there and when they return to their building have a few bags between the two of them.

"Thanks for coming with me," Katniss tells her as they start to part ways at the elevators.

"No, thank _you _for lunch. It was really delicious. I think you'll have to invite me over again when he's cooking." Katniss smiles at her and Rue winks as she gets onto the elevator.

It's early evening by the time Katniss puts away all that she bought and she decides to send Peeta a text inquiring how his day is going.

_Busy._

He responds to her a few minutes after she had sent her text.

_Will you still be able to come over for a little while tonight?_

_Of course but I don't want a repeat of last night though. Maybe we can go to the meadow instead for a little while._

_Sure._

After resting up and changing her clothes, a few hours later she meets Peeta who is parked in front of her building and greets him with a hug as he stands outside the passenger door of his car. He leans down to kiss her gently and she doesn't resist. Peeta opens the door for her and she settles inside and watches as he walks in front of the car. She leans over to open his door and he gets in and puts on his seatbelt.

When they arrive at the meadow it's pretty deserted with only a few couples looking up into the sky at the stars that are peeking through. Katniss finds a good spot for them to lay down the blanket he had in his car and takes a seat and pats the one next to her. Peeta smiles and sits down wrapping his arm around her. She leans into him and closes her eyes.

"This is nice," she comments and she brings her hand to his chest.

"It is," he leans down to kiss her forehead.

They sit there for a few moments until eventually Peeta is lying on his back and Katniss is on his chest drawing patterns there.

"How was it with your dad the other day?" Peeta breaks the silence as he stares into the sky.

"Okay I guess. He's trying to get back into my life."

"So that was why he was trying to intimidate me?" Katniss nods her head. "I'm not afraid of him you know," he adds. "I do want him to know how much I care about you though," and he lifts her chin up to him. "He needs to know that his daughter has someone watching out for her."

"I told him. He just thought you were trying to take advantage of me which I corrected him immediately."

"There's a lot of jerks out there, but I'm not one of them. I want to take my time with you so if and when we get to that next point in our relationship we're both ready for it."

"I agree," she continues to drag her fingers lazily on his chest. Peeta turns slightly and cradles her in his arms before he leans down to kiss her lips. It quickly intensifies with Katniss snaking her hands up and around his jaw and neck.

"Is this okay?" He breaks the kiss and whispers to her as he places his hand on her stomach and she nods her head. Peeta begins stroking her there lightly and her stomach clenches under his ministrations leaving her to begin to sigh. When his mouth centers on her neck she starts her low moans that sends a warm feeling to his stomach and lower. Katniss threads her fingers through his hair and his groans begin when she pushes them gently back and forth . He feels that familiar feeling in his shorts like in the morning and tries to back away as he mouths her neck.

"Peeta," she whispers as he gently bites her neck. Her hips move on their own accord and when she brushes against his arousal she stills her movements.

"Is everything okay?" he asks when he looks up as a result to her stilled movements, and sees her red cheeks and wide eyes.

"I just," she covers her mouth but smiles under her hand. "Is that because of the kissing?" She points to his shorts which aren't leaving much to imagination.

"Um…" Peeta looks down and then back up to her, blushing slightly.

"I've never been in this situation before," she begins as she looks away. "It's all new to me."

"Oh," he smiles softly as he reaches a hand out to push a loose strand behind her ear bringing her stare back to him. "You have no idea the effect you have on me," and he leans in capturing her lips again.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed some more fluffy goodness between the two of them. Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic. **


	22. Chapter 21

After making out heavily for more than an hour, the pair find themselves with swollen lips and flushed faces. Katniss smiles against his chest as she finally settles there and Peeta puts one arm behind his head and the other securely around her. She can only hear his heartbeat as it begins to steady itself after the excitement of the evening. When the sounds of the night creatures finally come to a peak, they decide it's time to head to their perspective homes. Peeta drops Katniss off and seals the evening with a small kiss. She whispers that she'll call him tomorrow and with a grin he waves and looks up to her as she exits his car.

Peeta texts her when he makes it home and she finally feels like she can relax into her bed. Katniss can't contain the smile on her face as she realizes just how much she cares about Peeta and that their relationship is growing significantly whenever they are together. In the morning Katniss makes her way to the shuttle bus for her final class with Cinna this week and she's met with Rue who is already waiting there.

"Good morning, Rue," Katniss happily speaks and a large grin covers Rue's face.

"Good morning Katniss. How are you today?"

"Awesome," she replies and she has to cover her smile because she hasn't been this happy in the morning for a long time.

"That's good," Rue adds still smiling at her.

"What?" Katniss asks quirking her eyebrow.

"Nothing," Rue feigns innocence. "I just really like that hickey right there," and she points to Katniss' neck.

"What?!" Katniss replies in horror pawing at her neck and Rue digs in her purse and hands her a compact. She looks into it and much to her dismay she sees a red mark where Peeta had given her neck attention the night before. Rue giggles at Katniss' antics and covers her mouth as she tries to hold in a much bigger laugh that is bound is spill out. "How could this happen? I was just looking in the mirror this morning and I didn't see this."

"Your hair probably covered it. Did you look at your neck after you braided your hair?" Katniss shook her head remembering getting out of the shower and then braiding her hair on her bed and not in the mirror like she sometimes does. "Do you have cover up at all?"

"No," she admits. " I don't really wear makeup."

"Well put your hair down if you don't want unnecessary questioning," Rue advises and Katniss does just that.

At first it seemed like a good idea until Cinna's routine becomes a little more physical than the last and Katniss' whipping hair becomes too much. She finally concedes and puts her hair up into a messy bun. No one seems to notice other than Rue but when the class is over and Cinna says goodbye to everyone, she feels self-conscious when he personally tells her to have a good weekend. She could have sworn his eyes flinted over her neck for a second before meeting her eyes.

"I need to go to the drug store quickly when we get home," she tells Rue. "My dad is coming over to give me some paperwork for my car and if he sees this he'll have a fit." Rue finds herself smiling toothily again but she doesn't outwardly laugh like before. As soon as they arrive in front of their building, they set off to the strip mall to find something to hide the evidence of her time with Peeta.

Luckily she makes it back home before her father calls her to confirm that he's on his way to her house. Katniss stares into her bathroom mirror applying the makeup while Rue sits on her toilet seat looking on.

"How does this look?" Katniss asks her desperately. "Can you tell there's makeup there?"

"A little, but it's not too bad. Here let me help blend it for you," and Rue stands up hovering on her tip toes like a bird as she dabs the makeup on Katniss' neck. "There," she tells her. "It looks good. You can't tell that someone love bit you there," and she can't contain her laughter as Katniss' reflection turns white in the mirror.

"Rue," she warns and that sends her in another laughing fit.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Rue gets out as she's now leaning over laughing. "Your face is priceless."

"My dad's going to kill me," she whines and it only causes Rue to laugh harder.

"Don't worry about it really," Rue finally replies as she wipes a tear from her eye. "That was a good laugh, thanks. I don't think I've felt this good in a long while. It's nice to just laugh it up with a friend." Katniss smiles at the sentiment even though she's still annoyed that Rue was laughing in her expense in the first place. It does feel nice to finally be concerned about some mundane teenage girl stuff and she wonders if this is what it would be like if she was home and had normal relationship with her parents and Prim.

After sharing a quick sandwich together, Rue departs Katniss' place and goes back to hers. Mr. Everdeen is let into the building shortly after and Katniss meets him at her door.

"Hey dad," she greets as she wrings her hands. He leans over to hug her and places a small kiss on her cheek.

"I have everything you need for your car right here," he offers handing her a brown envelope.

"Thanks dad, I really appreciate this."

"Of course. It's not a problem really." Her dad walks further into her place and takes a seat at the kitchen table while Katniss moves into the small cooking space further to take out a water bottle for the both of them. She sits across from him and he smiles sweetly at her as he sips his drink.

"Any plans for today?" Her father requests.

"Not really."

"Why don't you take your car for a spin. How long has it been since you've driven?"

"Well last week when I brought the car here but that's it," she replies looking down at her hands.

"Is everything else alright honey?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired that's all." He nods his head in agreement.

"Okay," he smiles at her. "How is your friend Peeta doing?" Katniss sighs audibly and shakes her head.

"He's fine," she responds tightly.

"Have you two been hanging out?"

"Where's this going dad?"

"Nowhere. Just wondering how you and your friend are doing."

"He's awesome dad," she forces a smile.

"Why do you have such a hard time talking about him to me?" He wonders.

"Because you are thinking too hard about someone who is just my friend," she replies and she wonders if they are truly just friends. They made out last night so forcefully that she's sure the hickey on her neck isn't the only one she is sporting and she's sure Peeta must have been uncomfortable being aroused all night with no immediate release.

"Well it's my job isn't it? To know about your friends. I messed up so badly before that I really want to get it right this time."

"Dad I don't think you're doing this because you want to know my friends. I think you think Peeta is more than just my friend and you're worried he's hurting me or taking advantage of me," she counters. "He's just my friend for starters and he's not doing anything to me that is hurtful. Like I told you before, he's been a big support for me during this time especially since those who were supposed to be doing that job weren't there." Her father looks at her with his mouth slightly open and then shakes his head before squeezing his water bottle.

"I'm sorry Katniss," he replies lowly. "What do you really want me to do at this point? This is a huge mess that I'm trying to fix and you're not making it any easier with your attitude."

"My attitude?" Katniss responds with her voice rising. "I'm allowed to have this attitude because of all that I've been through. Do you know how it feels to be so depressed you want to die? Do you know how it feels to be living with a family where you feel like the odd man out all the time? Do you dad? And then to have someone come into your life when it's way too late and try to tell you want to do because they're your "parent." It sucks dad, really fucking much," and she stands up and turns away from him.

"Katniss you may have the right to feel angry but you have no right to talk to me like that," he responds with his voice raising now.

"Then how am I supposed to talk?" She asks turning around to him. "All proper and respectful when you haven't given a shit about me for most of my life and now you're trying to guilt me with money and presents? You can take all of that crap back because I can take care of myself. I'm already doing it as you can see," she opens her arms and points around the room.

"That's not fair Katniss."

"Well life's not fair dad. I got four parents in this life and three of them don't give a royal shit about me, and one just realized they should give a shit and is trying to throw money at the problem. Do you even know how that feels dad?" She stands there now feeling the anger and anxiety fill her chest. She tries to calm her breathing but her chest is tight. With a scowl she walks to her side table next to her bed, where she fishes out her emergency anxiety medication and takes out a pill and puts it under her tongue.

"Are you alright Katniss?" Her father asks his voice shaking as he watches her take the pill.

"I'm fine," she answers coldly but he's there anyway placing a hand on her shoulder as she closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Should I call someone?"

"I'm fine," she repeats but she's not. She doesn't want her dad seeing her like this and she doesn't want him trying to comfort her especially. "Maybe you should go dad. I need to rest."

"I won't. I don't know if you're okay or not."

"Dad," she turns to him with pleading eyes. "Just go please. I'll feel better once you're gone. I just can't do this right now with you." He slumps his shoulders and stands there for a minute watching his daughter go over her breathing exercises to steady her breathing.

"Are you sure I shouldn't call someone?"

"I'm sure."

"Katniss, I'm really not comfortable leaving you."

"Alright then," she says in a huff a few moments later. " Call Haymitch. His number is next to the in-house phone." She stands there while her dad dials the phone and speaks to Haymitch about her having an anxiety attack. In a few minutes he's at her door and her dad lets him in.

"Are you alright Katniss?" Haymitch asks her from her seated position on the bed.

"I'm alright. I was having an anxiety attack and I took my medication. I'm better now."

"Let me just check your vitals okay?" Surprisingly Haymitch produces a stethoscope and blood pressure machine from a small black bag he carried in. She had no idea he had medical training.

"You're heart rate and pressure are a bit up but I'm sure with the medication it'll continue to come down. How long ago did you take your medication?"

"About 10 minutes ago maybe," she replies and he nods her head.

"Just rest alright. I'll come back to check on you later okay," and he gives her a small smile which is unfamiliar to her. "Thanks for calling me. Mr. Everdeen is it?"

"Yes," he replies. "I'm her father."

"Great to meet you. I'm Haymitch Abernathy, the therapist and program director here." The men shake hands and then Haymitch leaves her room.

"I'm going to go now kiddo," he dad tells her with a solemn face. "Please call me if anything okay?" Katniss nods her head but doesn't speak. Her father leans down to hug her and with that he leaves her room. She gets up a few minutes later to lock the door and then settles back into her bed holding the pillow close to her face. Her medication has finally fully kicked in and now she's feeling drowsy. She lets sleep take her away and doesn't wake up until Haymitch returns to her room to check her vitals again. Satisfied, he leaves her with the advice to call him if anything. A few moments later while she's trying to settle into bed again, her phone goes off.

"Hello," she answers her voice dry.

"Hey Katniss. I haven't heard from you all day. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I was just napping. I'm sorry I didn't call," she offers.

"It's alright. I was wondering if I could come over tonight for a bit?"

"Sure."

"Great. I'll see you in a little while. Do you need anything?" Katniss replies to him that she doesn't and then with a goodbye he's off the phone. It's nearly six in the evening now and she realizes she's been in bed since a little after one in the afternoon. She feels like a train hit her as her head is pounding. By the time Peeta arrives at her place, she pouring herself a second cup of tea.

Peeta enters her room with a smile but it immediately falls when he sees the state she's in.

"Are you okay? You don't look well."

"My dad was over earlier and we had an argument. Nothing serious."

"Okay," he replies but he doesn't believe that it wasn't a big deal. Katniss offers him a drink and he takes a bottle of water and they settle down at the table. He takes her hand but she doesn't look further than the mug of steaming liquid she keeps bringing to her mouth. "Come here," he finally offers softly and she looks up confused. Peeta turns his chair gesturing to his lap. "Let me hold you for a little while." Katniss complies and with an expressionless face sits gingerly in his lap where he pulls her close. She leans her head down on his shoulder and he pulls out her messy ponytail she had and smooths her hair.

In minutes it seems she dozes off so he takes this opportunity to carry her to her bed. He looks at the clock and it's after seven. He sets his phone for two hours and then settles in next to her sleeping form, bringing her back into his arms. Peeta places gentle kisses on her forehead and cheeks and just lets himself become overwhelmed with her. Katniss snores softly against him and in that moment he knows his feelings for her are changing.

* * *

**Just some notes. I wanted to thank you all again for sticking by and reading my story because it really makes my day that other people like and willingly read my work.**

**So about this story. I had originally planned it to be shorter but it seems there are more details that I want to go into so that's why we're in Chapter 21 and we haven't come across the infamous line that's in the summary of the story. We'll get there though.**

**I also wanted to mention that despite it being several chapters after Katniss has come home from the hospital, chronologically it's only been a week. This chapter ended on the Friday where she had her last class of the week with Cinna.**

**I had questions about when she'll meet up with her family again, including Prim, and it will happen in the further chapters. There will also be some more everlark fluffy goodness because that's what real life is about. We'll have crappy days but then we'll have awesome days.**

**Once again, I post extras on my tumblr account at lenai17 as well as anais117-fanfic. Come check me out so we can chat or just to look at my cat reblogs, lol. Thanks again for reading and hoped you like this chapter!**


	23. Chapter 22

Peeta awakens with a start when his phone goes off with a loud siren you would hear in a nuclear meltdown. Katniss is still pressed against him and when he tries to gently nudge her awake she groans and moves closer.

"Katniss," he whispers. "Please wake up. I need to get going soon and I wanted to talk a bit before I did."

"Not yet," she replies in a low voice. "You're so warm," and she pushes herself closer to his chest. He chuckles lightly and runs his hand through her hair.

"Okay," he concedes. "15 minutes." He notices a small smile on her face as she rubs her nose into his chest taking a deep breath.

The fifteen minutes come and go and he's finally able to get her awake and sitting up on her bed. She's technically still encased in him, opting to sit in his lap instead of leaning up against him. Katniss is looking up at him as he runs his fingertips up and down her arm.

"I wanted to know if tomorrow night would be fine to come over for dinner to meet my parents," he states and she nods her head. "You have to see Effie in the morning right?" She nods her head again. " I was thinking that maybe I'd pick you up afterward and take you to my favorite place before heading back to my house for dinner."

"Where's your favorite place?" She finally speaks as she wraps her arms around Peeta's waist.

"The Museum of Modern Art in the district 1 section of downtown Panem. Have you ever been there?"

"I think on a field trip in 8th grade. I don't really remember much," she replies still looking up to him.

"Well they recently added some addition pieces to their Picasso exhibit that I wanted to see. Would you like to see it with me?" She nods her head smiling and he leans down to kiss her gently on her mouth for the first time this evening. Katniss snakes her hands up and places them on either side of his jaw bringing him down to her lips again, this time kissing him slower and earning a slight moan from him when she swipes her tongue across his bottom lip.

"What was that for?" He questions breathlessly with wide eyes looking down at her.

"I don't know," she blushes. "Just really wanted to kiss you like that all of a sudden." It's the combination of having a restful nap, their magnetism, and the warm feelings still coursing throughout her body after being pressed up against him. Perhaps her feelings are changing for him as well.

"Was that okay? I'm sorry I should have…"

"It's alright," he cuts her off weaving his hand through her hair. "I liked it. A lot."

After getting out of bed and making her another cup of tea and holding her while she drank it, he notices the hickey on her neck. Katniss teases him about it which earns her an embarrassed look, but she reassures him that it was okay. He still feels bad about it; that is until Katniss offers to give him one back in the near future which seems to make him feel better.

It's a little after the designated time for visitors to leave when Peeta finally makes his way back home. Katniss sleeps soundly after receiving his text that he was parking his car in his driveway. In the morning she's up and waiting for the first shuttle of the day and she makes it to the hospital to meet with Effie with a few minutes to spare. She sits outside her office and when she hears the click of Effie's heels turning the corner she stands up and meets her eccentric social worker with a smile.

"Good morning Katniss my dear," Effie greets. "You look really good today," and she leads her into the office. "Sorry I'm a little late. They were repairing a level in the garage that led us to have to find street parking. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm alright," Katniss smiles.

"Well you look very different than last week it seems. What's been going on with you? How have you been adjusting to everything?"

Katniss goes on to explain to her everything she did this week including the classes with Cinna, the group therapy with Haymitch, and the sessions with Dr. Aurelius.

"I spoke to Haymitch yesterday about you and he told me you're adjusting well, but you had an infraction already with Peeta staying over." Katniss blushes and turns away from Effie who is now stirring milk into her coffee.

"It's fine dearie," she answers. "I know how it feels to have to adjust to a new place and wanting a familiar face around. When I first moved here it was a complete shock for me. I grew up in a wealthy neighborhood near downtown Panem and when I finished college and took a job around here, and subsequently moved here, it was very different. I got used to it though, but it was hard especially for my parents." Katniss looks up to her and smirks as she thinks about Effie growing up privileged and then having to work with some undesirable people in the social work field. She wonders what she thought she was getting herself into, especially working with a population of people who have it so difficult they are admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit of a hospital.

"Thanks," Katniss responds as she takes the cup of coffee that Effie prepared for her after she finished her own.

"So your father is in the picture now. Dr. Aurelius and Haymitch told me about their experiences with him so far but I want to know how it's going for you." Katniss discusses her father much like the way she had with Dr. Aurelius but adds on their interaction from the day before.

"I'm glad Haymitch was there but I would like you to speak with Dr. Aurelius tomorrow," she responds. "I also want you to try to spend more time with your father even if it's hard at first. It's important to try to work on your relationship with him as you will be doing the same with the rest of your family."

Katniss nods her head and then dips it back into her coffee cup.

"So how is your relationship with Peeta going?" Effie continues on as she writes notes on a note pad.

"Okay," Katniss breathes.

"I know you may feel this is uncomfortable but you should talk about it. If not with Haymitch or Dr. Aurelius, at least with me."

"It's fine honestly," she answers putting the mug up to her mouth quickly.

"Well whatever is going on I hope you're being safe and remembering that your recovery comes first, okay?" Katniss groans as she says that. "And that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

After chatting for another hour, they make plans for Effie to come over to visit Katniss at her new place as she wants to bring her over a house warming gift. Katniss bids her good bye and when she walks out of the main entrance of the hospital, she sees Peeta's car parked there. When she taps on the passenger window he unlocks the door and she sits down. They lean into one another for a peck hello and with that he takes her hand and drives off.

Peeta asks about her meeting with Effie and she replies with few words which seem to satisfy him but the truth is she's feeling different about him. It's been this way the last few days and it's amazing to think that just a week ago he was moving her into her new place and they barely hugged. How did so much happen in a week? How did she get so close to him so fast?

When they arrive downtown, they find paid parking right outside the museum. Peeta swipes his debit card and then takes her hand as they walk into the building. It's a bit chilly inside of the museum and it takes Katniss off guard. Peeta smiles at her as he wraps his warm arm around her as they walk further into the museum.

"Do you want to go right to the exhibit?" Katniss asks him as they pass by a rather large painting called "Hide and Seek" by the painter Pavel Tchelitchew.

"Soon," he replies.

"That looks like a big tree," she observes and then notices there are children's faces in there. "Creepy," she adds and Peeta chuckles.

They pass by a few other paintings of various subjects, with women or children. Finally they come across the first Picasso painting called _Three Musicians_.

"I like the colors," Katniss comments and they stand there a few minutes mapping out each musician in the painting.

"I like the style how everything fits over or next to one another. Like some sort of puzzle," Peeta adds. They continue walking along the crowd and arrive at some of his newer additions to the already installed paintings.

"Wow," Katniss begins. "This one looks totally different than the others. It's not shaped like the others. This looks exactly like its name. _Two Acrobats with a Dog_," she states.

"Yes this style is different and judging by the date, it's some of his earlier work. Look at this one." He points at the next painting called _Head _which is a painting of a person's head. "It's so different and so wonderful." Peeta's eyes grow large as he admires this painting and the next one which is pink and appears to have people dancing in it.

After walking past the Monet exhibit and it being too crowded to get in and get a good look, they find themselves in the Van Gogh section. They see the _Portrait of Joseph Roulin_, a portly fellow with a large beard set to the background of flowers.

"I like that there is a lot of blue in this painting," Katniss comments.

"Then I'm sure you'll love this one," Peeta takes her hand and turns her right in front of _The Starry Night._

"I do," she whispers as her eyes lock on the painting. "I've never seen the real one before. Just all the replicas they sell in stores. It's so beautiful."

"I didn't know you liked art."

"I do, well some art anyway. I like yours," she turns to him and he smiles. "But I also like this painting. I'm not sure why, but I think it's something with the blue."

"Is blue your favorite color?" He asks.

"No green is, but blue is a close second."

"Mine is orange." Katniss turns to him nodding her head, and then turns back to the painting.

After going through a section of various sculptures, they decide it's time to head out. The walking at the museum seemed to trigger their appetites so they stop to eat a quick lunch before heading to his house. During the car ride there, Peeta takes the time to reassure her that she'll do fine with his parents and not to worry. Katniss is still a bit shaky when he parks in the driveway of his family's two story house though and he finds himself pulling her into a hug over the console.

"They're not home yet," he begins. "They're at the bakery with Rye but will be home around 4. Do you want something to drink?" He offers. Katniss nods her head as he takes her into the kitchen. Immediately she smells the remnants of some sort of baked goods as she takes a seat at the large table that has six chairs around it. She watches as Peeta moves around the well-stocked kitchen getting her a glass and then filling it with orange juice from the fridge.

"Is this okay?" He asks as he pours the orange liquid.

"It's fine," she creaks. Peeta smiles as he brings it over and sits next to her and holds the hand that's not lifting the glass.

"You have a nice kitchen," she tells him.

"Thanks. It was one of my mother's projects; including the rest of the house, during her recovery. It helped her stay busy and keep her mind working. Did your therapist suggest you do anything like that?"

"Not yet. I guess that my full schedule of seeing someone every day is supposed to do it. Dr. Aurelius encouraged me to keep writing and I do that sometimes." Peeta nods his head and after she's done with her glass, he brings it to the sink to wash.

"Would you like a tour of the house?"

"Sure."

Peeta takes her upstairs and starts by showing her the two bedrooms that used to belong to him and his brothers; in which one is a guest room and the other a library.

"Why is yours a library now?" Katniss wonders aloud.

"Because it was the smallest and we needed somewhere to put all of these recipe books. This actually was Brandon's room up until the basement was finished. I shared with Rye and then moved in here when Brandon got his new room. It was like musical bedrooms," he laughs.

He quickly shows her his parent's master bedroom which is painted pink and houses a changing room on one side for his mother and a large armoire for his father, along with a whirlpool bathtub in their master bathroom. Peeta explains his mother wanted to room painted in her favorite color and his dad was shocked because he had thought it was blue. They come back downstairs where he shows her the dining room, living room and finally the den.

"I spent a lot of time here with my mother watching movies and just talking. It's how we bonded again after everything. That's why these couches are so comfortable. You just want to sit here for days and days." Katniss smiles at him and takes a seat next to him and immediately understands what he was talking about.

"These are comfortable. I could fall asleep."

"Well don't," he chuckles. "Because I haven't shown you the best part of the house yet."

"What's that?" She inquires turning her head to him.

"My room."

The pair walk down a pair of stairs into the furnished basement which is lit by a small overhead light.

"Let me turn these on," he supplies as she turns on a few free standing lamps. "My room," he presents and Katniss takes a look around. There are various paintings on his walls all she assumes were painted by him. On one side there's a couch seated in front of a large flat screen television with a cable box and game console underneath it, while on the other side is a large bed with an orange bed cover and two fluffy white pillows. The floor is carpeted and before they move any further he asks her to take off her shoes.

"No problem," she answers as she kicks them off and arranges them next to his under the steps.

Next to where the boiler is she sees another set of stairs and a door leading outside.

"Where does that go?" She points.

"Let me show you." Peeta takes her hand and they walk to the few steps, up and out onto a small porch. "My little piece of heaven I call it."

In front of them on the side of the house is an extension of their property. It's grass covered and extends to a line of colorful bushes and a small garden that sit against the fence that encases their property. There's also an apple and fig tree further up and in the corner of the fence going back and into their backyard.

"Wow, it's beautiful. You garden?"

"No my mother does. It was also her idea to plant the fruit trees. Something else to help her through her recovery."

"She likes to keep busy."

"She does." Peeta offers her a seat and they do together on a cushioned rocking bench they have back there. "I come out here late afternoon to look at the flowers and garden and then at night I look at the moon. It's really calming."

The pair began to rock on the bench and Katniss lays her head on his shoulder. Peeta wraps his arm around her shoulder and places a kiss on her forehead.

"I think I'm going to fall asleep out here," she teases and he smiles as he edges off the bench.

"You always fall asleep on me."

"You're always so comfortable," she adds. He helps her up and they head back inside of his room and Katniss finds herself looking at the paintings on the walls. "How come none of these are upstairs?" She wonders aloud.

"My mom doesn't like them."

"How could she not, they're so beautiful."

"Thank you," he smiles with a mix of a slight frown. "She just doesn't. She tries to be supportive in most of everything I do but it seems with painting and drawing she's not. Even after she started recovering, she just never came around. It's alright I guess. I don't expect her to like them just because I'm her son. We bond over other things, like baking and cooking," he replies hopeful to Katniss.

"Peeta," she begins softly. "I'm sorry," and she walks over to him and pulls him down into a hug.

"For what? It's okay," he responds his voice a little shaky. Why was it shaky he wondered.

"I know it bothers you. Didn't you want to do this for a living? And now you're stuck with the bakery."

"I love the bakery," he answers defensively backing up a little.

"I didn't mean it that way," she tries to recover. "I just think you should do what you love."

"I am," he replies with a small voice.

"All of what you love," and she closes the space between them again and places her hands on his arms. "I'll help you work on that if you want," she tells him smiling. "You helped me with so much, I want to be able to return the favor." He finally smiles down to her and leans down to peck her lips.

"You're amazing you know?"

"I'm not," she shakes her head.

"You are," he begins. "To me."

The pair stand there in the middle of the floor in his room embracing and sharing small kisses. Katniss snakes her hands up and into his hair while he lets his play in her long tresses. She sighs into his mouth and it sends a sharp jolt to his stomach. They're only interrupted when heavy footfalls are heard above.

"Peeta are you home?" A man's voice calls and the two jump apart.

"I'm down here," he answers. "With Katniss."

Suddenly her stomach drops as the door opens and she's looking up to a tall blonde man who looks like an older version of Peeta, and a shorter blonde woman who are both squinting their eyes down at them. The look on his parent's faces tells her that she might have disappointed them already.

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**As always thanks for the love and feedback! Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or on my writing blog at anais117-fanfic. I post extras there along with cat reblogs. (Which are so adorable..lol)**


	24. Chapter 23

**Sorry for the long update but thank you for your patience. Enjoy!**

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The pair walk up the stairs single file like scolded children to meet Peeta's parents.

"Mom, Dad," Peeta begins. "This is Katniss Everdeen." Katniss extends her hand and shakes each of theirs.

"Peeta, can I speak to you for a moment?" Mr. Mellark requests and Peeta nods but gives Katniss a reassuring look before following behind him into the living room.

"Why don't you help me with dinner?" Mrs. Mellark asks Katniss as the two stand there; Katniss looking at her feet while she looks between her and the kitchen.

"Sure," she whispers and follows Mrs. Mellark into the warm room.

"Can you cut these up into cubes?" Mrs. Mellark hands Katniss a bowl of tomatoes and she nods while walking over to the sink to wash her hands. Katniss grabs a knife, a cutting board and situates herself on the counter while Mrs. Mellark does the same but grabs an onion and a few different colored peppers.

The women stand next to one another chopping up vegetables until Mrs. Mellark breaks the silence.

"Do you like my son?" She asks boldly and Katniss stops cutting the tomato in front of her abruptly and looks over at the older woman.

"Um," she stammers. "Yes I do," she replies in a low voice.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Mellark turns to her and looks at her with the same blue eyes Peeta has.

"Yes I'm sure," she responds weakly hoping Mrs. Mellark doesn't notice her hand shaking as she holds the other half of the tomato she was cutting.

"Then don't hurt him. My son is very important to me and I make sure whoever comes into his life treats him right. I do that for all my sons but Peeta is special. He was there for me the most out of all my children when I was sick. He was the most understanding of my situation and I don't know what I would do if I found out someone in his life hurt him." Katniss nods at Mrs. Mellark's pointed look and then slowly brings her gaze back to the tomato.

"I won't hurt him," Katniss mentions in a low voice a few minutes later. "He's been my rock since my mother kicked me out of the house. I could never do anything to harm him after that. I owe him a lot." Her face feels hot that she's confessed this to someone she barely knows, but she knows those words are the truth. Peeta has been her everything up to this point with everyone else she used to depend on falling to the wayside.

"Alright then," she responds continuing to cut through a large onion.

In the other room Peeta sits across from his father with his head buried into his hands as his father lectures him on what he and his wife walked in on.

"Peeta you have to think more before you do things. How do you think we felt seeing you two down there knowing full well you're not allowed to have girls in your bedroom?"

"Dad for the hundredth time, we're just friends," he responds with a raised voice. "I was giving her a tour of the house and my bedroom was last. I wasn't planning on doing something just because she was in my room. I was just showing her my space."

"Peeta, do you think I was born yesterday? I was an 18 year old boy full of hormones once just like you. The amount of time you spend with her, even one time spending the night at her place; and you want to tell me you're just friends?" Mr. Mellark huffs.

"We are Dad. Even though we care about one another a relationship isn't an option for us right now."

"I'm sorry Peeta I just don't believe you but honestly it doesn't matter. We're not offering her to stay here and I know I can't forbid you to go to her place because as long as you take care of your responsibilities, your free time is yours." Mr. Mellark states with his face a little red from the slight anger rising inside of him. "What I can say is that I want you to be careful. Use your head and if you two are doing something, use a condom because you're too young for a baby."

"Dad!" Peeta whines. "Are you serious? If I'm telling you we're just friends, why would you think we were having sex?"

"Because like I said, you're an 18 year old with hormones and she's one too. I know how you both feel about the other and spending time with someone you care about may eventually lead to other things you may not have planned. That's why I telling you these things Peeta." Peeta groans and his father lifts his eyebrows. "Just listen to me for once Peeta and don't be so stubborn. I had to do a lot of talking to convince your mother to even think about giving her a chance at the bakery. Don't blow it by disrespecting our house. You got that?" Peeta nods his head and his father gets up from his seat. With a pat on the shoulder he starts toward the kitchen.

Peeta joins Katniss and his mom and helps complete dinner, which is the same as what he and Katniss made a few days ago. He tries to sneak glances at Katniss but she's glued to her work as she's still shaken by Mrs. Mellark's words. To help ease the tension, Katniss offers to prepare the raw chicken and Mrs. Mellark seems impressed by her handiwork. Peeta puts on the pasta while Mr. Mellark sets the table.

The sauce is simmering while Mrs. Mellark scoops out the perfectly browned chicken breasts and slices the mozzarella cheese. She tastes the sauce and it appears to be ready so she spoons some on the chicken and then adds the cheese and then the sauce. Once that's in the oven to come together, she prepares the pasta and Mr. Mellark starts plating it. Katniss sits diagonal from Peeta but doesn't look up once from the place mat in front of her. She can feel his parents looking at her and she's afraid of what they may say if they catch her glancing at their son.

Peeta helps his father place the plates on the table while his mother brings over cool lemonade in glasses. The family sit down with Katniss and after a small prayer they begin to eat. Katniss stares at her plate letting the aroma of it all float through the air and in her nose. Her stomach is growling but her mind is preoccupied. Mrs. Mellark seemed so concerned about Peeta and it scared her and made her a bit jealous. Here she was recovering from trying to kill herself and her mother couldn't care less about it all.

Mrs. Mellark loved her son and he was there for even after everything she did to him. Katniss wonders if she should be that way toward her mom. Maybe her mom would love her again if only she knew how much Katniss needed her now. It hurt Katniss feeling so lonely for a family who didn't want her and having to deal with her father who seemed to be coming at her in all the wrong ways. It was all so exhausting and seeming to come up at the worst time.

"Katniss?" Mrs. Mellark's light voice startles her back into reality and she looks up to her sitting across from her. "Are you alright? Do you like the food?"

"It's great," Katniss replies as she scoops a piece of chicken in her mouth absently.

"Peeta said you two made this the other day and you liked it a lot. The sauce is my mother's recipe."

"Yes," she nods her head. "Peeta told me that. It is really good." Mrs. Mellark smiles and Katniss continues to eat her food.

When dinner is over, Katniss offers to clean the dishes while Mr. Mellark brings out dessert; a chocolate cake he brought from the bakery. After the cleanup is done, they bring slices of cake and mugs of the Mellark family tea into the den to sit around the coffee table.

"So let's get down to business," Mr. Mellark begins after they have eaten a few bites of their cake and drink some of their tea. "Peeta has told us about your situation and we wanted to help. He's told us you found a place to stay so with that not being an immediate concern, we wanted to offer you a job at the bakery." Katniss looks at him over her mug of tea which is both warming and relaxing her, as he talks and then sets it down to reply.

"I would be honored to work with you at the bakery. I just need to talk to my psychiatrist about it first. They have me on a specific care plan and for right now I'm not allowed to work."

"Well, let us know," Mrs. Mellark answers back. "In the meantime though, I would like it, when you have free time that is, for you to come over to help me with my garden. I found that that was a great way to relax and focus after a long day. I think it may work well for you." Katniss is shocked by his mother's offer and knows she can't decline because she wants to get along with her. The woman scares her a bit but she also admires that she was able to recover from her depression.

"I would like that," she smiles again and Peeta looks on approvingly.

After second helpings of cake and tea, it's time for Katniss to call it a night and head home. She thanks his parents for the pleasant meal and they offer for her to come back in the near future. Mrs. Mellark gives her a doggie bag filled with dinner and desert, as well as a few satchels of the Mellark family tea.

"Now that wasn't too bad," Peeta teases her as they drive back to her place.

"It was actually surprising," Katniss adds as she fumbles with the plastic ties on the bag of food.

"Why is that?"

"I thought your parents were going to kill me. Especially your mom when she gave me that speech."

"What speech?" He inquires when he stops at a red light and focuses on her.

"She asked me if I liked you and when I said I did, she told me not to hurt you."

"Really?" Peeta lifts an eyebrow as he steps on the gas.

"Yes, really. I thought she was going to yell at me for being in your room or something."

"Well my dad did that already," he laughs and Katniss joins. "But she really told you not to hurt me?"

"Yes," she nods. "You mean a lot to her. She said you helped her through her recovery."

"I did," Peeta smiles sadly. "Sometimes I was the only one there. My dad was frustrated and Rye couldn't handle it. Brandon was already working at the bakery and doing his own thing. I just wanted her to get better so I did what I could."

"You're incredible Peeta," she leans over and places her hand on his arm. He lets it fall down and their fingers intertwine.

When he finally gets her home he offers to walk her in, but not before convincing the security guards he needed to use her bathroom and therefore needed to access her apartment despite it being after visiting house. Peeta always had a way with words so he was walking by her side down her hall in no time.

"You know my dad thinks we're more than friends," he tells her as she puts food in the fridge.

"What did you tell him?"

"That we were friends." Peeta looks at her trying to gauge her reaction, but can't read the expression on her face.

"Do you think we're just friends?" Katniss asks walking closer to him.

"I do."

"I don't," she responds walking closer. "I've been thinking about this for a while and I don't think we are just friends."

"We're not?" He asks puzzled.

"No. I think we're more," and she closes the space pressing her body against his.

"Oh," he responds as he looks down at her. She's smiling slightly and he leans down to peck her lips but she doesn't let him stop there. For a minute she kisses him and then pulls back.

"See? I don't think friends do that."

"They don't," he breathes and then he's leaning back down to kiss her again. She runs her hands through his hair and he groans as he pulls her closer to him. This part of their relationship; whatever it may be defined as, they both enjoy. His lips are always soft and warm and hers a little cold and chapped.

"Katniss," he whispers a few minutes later. "I need to go." Katniss lowers herself back on to the flats of her feet and he brushes her hair back with his fingers. "I would love to stay here kissing you but I know you have an early day tomorrow and so do I. Not to mention security who will probably be calling you to make sure I didn't die on your toilet." Katniss laughs and he smiles down at her.

"I had a great time tonight meeting your parents."

"I did too. I think they like you Katniss."

"I hope so because I'm not walking out of their son's life anytime soon." With that Peeta pecks her lips one more time before turning and walking out of her apartment.

Katniss reflects on the night as she settles into bed, thinking about his parents and how different they are from her own. It makes her sad for a little while at what she's lacking, but soon enough sleep claims her and for tonight it will be just her and her dreams.

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**Thank you! Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic. **


	25. Chapter 24

The next morning begins like all other mornings where Katniss has to get ready for an appointment; a quick shower, breakfast and then running for the shuttle. Today would be different as she decided to finally use her car to take her to her appointment so that she'd have a reason and the means to visit Peeta at the bakery.

Her mind rested on her meeting with his parents yesterday and what led up to them agreeing that they were more than just friends. In that moment she felt different about him; somehow her feelings changing even more than they had been and she was sure he was going through the same thing. Even the way he had kissed her seemed different than all the other times and the thought of it now made her dizzy.

When she arrived at the hospital, there was plenty of parking in the lot so she found herself in front of his office fifteen minutes early. Katniss decided to take this time to send Peeta a few texts.

_Good morning._

_Good morning Katniss. The morning rush just died down. How are you?_

_You have a morning rush on a Sunday?_

_There's a church nearby and they pick up a few orders each week. We also have a Sunday special that some families take advantage of so between them and the church, we're swamped._

_Sounds good. _

_Yes indeed._

_I was wondering if you would be up for a surprise later this afternoon._

_What type of surprise?_

_I'll let you know when you're about to get it._

_Okay. I trust you.:p_

Just as Katniss is about to text back. Dr. Aurelius rounds the corner holding his messenger bag and what looks like his breakfast.

_Dr. A just got here so I'll text you when I'm done. Have a great day :D  
_

_You too! _

"Good morning Katniss," the doctor announces as he opens the door and gestures for her to go first.

"Good morning."

"Did you eat breakfast yet? I have some extra coffee and a bagel if you want?"

"I ate already, but I'll take the coffee," she smiles and he hands it to her as they get comfortable in their seats.

The session starts off with all the usual questions about her week since she last saw him, and she tells him everything including the meeting with Peeta's parents. He smiles as she talks about Peeta looking just like his father and how he lectured him on her being in his bedroom. After reassuring Dr. Aurelius that nothing was going on, and of course blushing, she went on to the topic that had troubled her the night before. When she begin speaking about Mrs. Mellark, he noticed right away her shift in mood.

"How did it make you feel witnessing the relationship that Peeta had with his mother?"

"A little jealous mostly."

"Why did it make you feel jealous?"

"His mother abused him but made it right. My mother abused me and I'm afraid she doesn't want to make it right," she responds lowering her head. Dr. Aurelius pushes a box of tissues toward her when he notices her hands shaking.

"It's alright Katniss. Let it out."

"Why hasn't she tried to contact me?" Katniss cries and he picks up the box and pushes it closer to her. She takes it and whispers thanks. "I've been out of her house for three weeks and just saw her for minutes last week. How could she not be concerned about her daughter?"

"I don't know Katniss but that's why I want you to have a session with her and soon. I have been calling her since you left the hospital and all I've gotten back from her in response was that she was too busy. I'm aiming for a meeting some time after Labor Day."

"That's about two weeks away," she sniffles and he nods.

"It'll give you some time to prepare for what needs to be addressed and what might actually come up."

"Will it be with my whole family?"

"I was thinking you should have a session with Prim first and then one with your mother and your stepfather, then you father and stepmother, and finally one with all of them together. How does that sound?"

"Exhausting," she laughs stiffly as she wipes her face.

"It won't be easy Katniss, but you need the closure and the possible renewal of a relationship. It will help you as you continue to recover. You're already doing so well with treatment and living on your own. You've even managed a friendship with Peeta and started a new one with Rue. These improvements are all positive ones and you should be proud of yourself."

"Thank you," she tells him and he reaches over to pat her hand.

They continue on discussing his upcoming plans of her treatment and she brings up the job offer from the Mellarks. He agrees it is a great opportunity but advises she should wait until after her initial sessions with her family to ensure she is stable before starting a new venture in her life.

After her session is over and she's in her car, she takes a few minutes to reflect on what she discussed with him. Katniss would usually do this on the shuttle with her headphones on playing some song by her favorite indie female artist, but today she just has the silence of her car. It's much better than the latter and she takes advantage leaning her seat back and closing her eyes.

_Hey Katniss_

Peeta texts her while she's daydreaming with her eyes closed and the buzzing startles her awake.

_Hey Peeta. I was just about to text you._

_Oh really? Something about my surprise ;)_

_You guessed it._

_So what is my surprise?_

_Me._

_Really?_

_When do you have your break? I'm done with Dr. A and I have my car so I wanted to come see you._

_Your car? You insured it?_

_Long story. I'll explain later. Can I come over?_

_Sure. Text me when you're here and I'll take my break._

Katniss rubs her eyes one last time before punching in the bakery address into the navigation and heading toward her destination. Before she hits the location, she stops by a sandwich shop to pick up lunch for them and then gets on her way to him. She sits in her car outside the building and within minutes of texting Peeta that she was there, he comes out the front door with a smile on his face.

"Hey!" He smiles as he sits down and she returns it.

"Do you have time to go park by the lake?"

"Sure. I have about 45 minutes. Is that enough?" Katniss nods and puts her car in drive and heads toward their destination. She gestures to the sandwiches and drinks she bought and Peeta thanks her and opens his drink.

When they finally park, they opt to sit in the backseat to have their meal. It's quiet as they begin to bite into their sandwiches and Katniss looks at him out the corner of her eye. She watches him bring his sandwich up to his mouth and then back down, and then him lean to sip his drink. Why was this suddenly interesting to her? When he's finally done, he puts his garbage back in the bag and he looks over to her.

"So how is everything?" He manages and in between bites Katniss tells him things are fine, leaving out the feelings from her revelations in her session today about him and his mother.

"Dr. Aurelius is planning a meeting with my family after Labor Day. I'm a bit nervous about it all."

"Are you allowed to have someone there with you? I could go if you needed?" Katniss puts down her sandwich and looks at him. His lips are in a slight crooked smile and his hands in his lap.

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course. I told you I'd be here for you if anything."

"Thanks," and she leans over and he meets her halfway into a small kiss.

"Are you doing anything for Labor Day? Maybe we can do something to help you relax before things get all serious again."

"Like what?"

"We can do the stuff we did before, like go swimming or lay out in the meadow. Would that be cool?"

"Alright."

"And maybe I can bake for you?" Katniss smiles at his last suggestion and he laughs.

The pair continue to sit in the back of her car engaging in small talk until it's time for Peeta to get back to work. She drives him back, but before he gets out, he leans over to capture her lips in one last kiss.

"I'll text you later," he tells her and she smiles as he walks back into the bakery.

Peeta walks into the bakery and at the counter there are a few people in line that Rye is helping.

"How was your lunch?" He asks once Peeta comes back from washing his hands and the last customer is out the door.

"Fine," he answers as he puts his apron back on.

"You didn't take your car," Rye adds and Peeta nods.

"My friend stopped by so I used their car."

"Your _friend_?" Rye teases with a smirk on his face.

"Yes my _friend_," he responds as he moves to place a tray of cookies into the display.

"Come on Peeta. I know all your _friends_ are away at school. The only one left is Katniss. Even though what I've heard from Dad she's more than that."

"Shut up," he tells him throwing a towel at him.

"Come on! I'm your big bro. Give me some deets."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Peeta feigns ignorance as he picks up the next full tray that Rye has just piled cookies on.

"You're not really doing this to me are you? Every girl I've ever dated I've given you information on and you've even given me some on those other girls you were involved with. What's so special about her?" Peeta thinks for a moment as he continues his work and then he looks up to his brother.

"Everything," he states and after a serious look at his brother he's back to his work.

"Hmmph," Rye answers and then he shakes his head and turns to the customer that has just walked up.

There's an unexpected evening rush at the bakery that causes Peeta to stay until closing and then an hour after to help his brother clean up. Peeta would have left earlier to go be with Katniss, but he knows especially since he's part owner of the bakery, his personal life would have to take a small backseat.

On his way home he texts Katniss the situation and makes plans to see her tomorrow. She's disappointed that she wouldn't be seeing him as she was hoping to make up for her shyness from earlier in the day. She resigns that this is normal for any relationship and decides to spend her evening with Rue.

Peeta arrives home and immediately finds himself in the shower and then his bed. He hasn't been tired like this for weeks but it seems all the late nights with Katniss has finally started taking a toll on him. His parents go about their evening above him making dinner and finally retiring to the den for tea and the news.

When Peeta wakes and is hungry, he goes upstairs and finds his dinner plate in the microwave. He heats it up and with that and a cup of tea, he goes into the den where he finds his mother alone watching the news.

"Where's Dad?" He questions as he sets his plate on the coffee table.

"He went to bed already. He has the morning shift tomorrow." Peeta nods. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I was beat when I got home, but now I'm hungry." Peeta focuses on the news as he shovels food into his mouth, not paying attention to his mother who is watching him now.

"So I guess you're not going over to Katniss'?"

"Not tonight," he responds and his mom nods her head.

"She's a nice girl," his mother begins. "I can tell her heart is in the right spot." Peeta puts his plate down and looks at his mother.

"Where's that?" He wonders aloud and his mother smiles thoughtfully before answering.

"With you." Peeta pauses for a moment to digest his mother's words.

"You can see that?" His mother nods in response. "How?"

"She told me that she cared about you even though I knew she was afraid of me; well not me but perhaps my presence. If it wasn't she would have said you two were just friends."

"We _are_ just friends mom."

"Peeta, seriously," she grins. "I'm your mother. I know when my son is enamored with someone."

"I've never been _enamored _with anyone."

"You are with her. I can tell Peeta. You've changed from the young man that graduated high school only a few months ago. Now you're a man who's helping to run a business and helping out someone he likes to refer to as his _friend _even though I know you care deeply about her and you consider her more than that." Peeta feels his face heat up so he grabs for his tea to distract himself.

"It's alright Peeta. You don't have to be embarrassed. You've matured in the last few months and I was wrong to think you weren't ready to run the business. You've managed to juggle taking care of Katniss and keeping up at the bakery. It seems like both things are flourishing."

"I have help at work with you, Dad and Rye so that's not just me, and I haven't even told you anything about Katniss."

"You smile more at work and that attracts business. I know why some of those church ladies come before and after services," his mother laughs and he tries to stifle one himself. "I've seen you get through your prep work more easily than you used to and you take all the hard assignments without batting an eye. It even seems like you get along with Rye better in the last few months and with him out of the house and working with Brandon part-time, he has changed and I know that's not easy." Peeta nods his head and his mother continues. "With Katniss, besides all of the talking you do about her and all the time you've spent with her, seeing her yesterday solidified it for me. I know how someone looks when they come out of a mental hospital and she doesn't look like that. She looks great and even though I'm sure she has a strong support system with her therapists and the staff at her building, part of it is you."

"I've never thought of it that way," he speaks slowly a few minutes later as his mom looks on.

"Well I'm your mom. It's my job to look at things differently," she speaks to him in a soft voice. "Just take your time with whatever relationship you have with her, even though you're too embarrassed to tell your mother about it." Peeta smiles up at her and she leans over to pull him into a half hug.

"Don't stay up too late alright? You've been working hard and you need your rest. I'm sure you'll want to be seeing Katniss again soon. You don't want to ruin a great moment by falling asleep now do you?" She gives him a smile again before retreating upstairs to bed. Peeta just sits the couch wondering how his mother managed to know so much from so little information.

* * *

**Thank you guys for your continued support for this story! Things are starting to slowly change between Katniss and Peeta and it will be exciting to finally get to the nitty gritty of their relationship! Stay tuned.**

**Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic for extras about this story and more!**


	26. Chapter 25

It's nearly a week before Peeta and Katniss are able to spend any substantial amount of time together. They managed to have lunch together briefly on two afternoons, but when the evening comes, Peeta is often shuffled to his brother Brandon's bakery to help out with the ongoing processes of opening and maintaining a new location. This leaves little to no time left for himself much less any with Katniss. They resign to text and call one another each night when he gets home but that does nothing to alleviate the growing feelings of longing they experience for the other.

In exchange for working the entire weekend between both locations in preparation for the influx of business due to the last week before Labor Day, Peeta is granted Friday off. He shows up early to Katniss' place before she heads out to her class with Cinna, and surprises her with breakfast.

"Peeta what are you doing here?" She asks smiling up to him expectantly after she opens her door.

"I needed to see you," he responds leaning down to hug and kiss her. "I missed you so much, baby," he adds but before Katniss can process his words, he's shutting the door with his foot and dropping the bag of food by her door. He kisses and holds her so fiercely that he nearly lifts her off the ground in his embrace.

"_Baby_?" She questions him between kisses and he just smiles as he dives into another deep kiss. Somehow she manages to walk him over to her bed where she leans down and pulls him on top of her to continue their kiss. Her head is spinning thinking about him calling her _baby _and the fact that she's kissing him instead of getting ready to go to her appointment.

Peeta's hands are everywhere as he darts his tongue in her mouth, playfully wrestling with hers. She moans in approval and arches her back as his hands travel under her shirt for the first time. Just as he reaches the hem of her bra, there's a loud knock at the door.

"Shit," she curses quietly. Peeta calmly places a few kisses on her neck as she begins to sit up. "It's probably Rue. We've been driving together to this appointment since I got my car back. Can you stay here until I get back?" She questions him staring into his intense blue eyes.

"Of course," he smiles and with one last kiss she's standing up and straightening out her clothes.

"How do I look?"

"Beautiful. Have a good time at your class," he waves as she begins to walk slowly toward the door. When she sees the bag of food by the door she picks it up and brings it back to him. "Oh, I brought you breakfast," he tells her as she hands the bag toward him. "Why don't you bring it with you?" She nods and takes the sandwich and then kisses him one last time before heading for the door again.

"So what was that all about?" Rue questions as they drive toward the hospital, each eating half of the sandwich Peeta bought for Katniss.

"All of what?" Katniss feigns ignorance as she finishes up her portion.

"Are we really playing this game again? I know Peeta was in your room because I heard you two talking."

"Thanks for eavesdropping," Katniss turns toward her and all Rue can do is grin.

"I'm sorry; I'm like a little hummingbird. I poke my head in and out," she laughs. Katniss shakes her head and then they stop at a red light. "But seriously, what's going on with you two?"

"The same as when I told you a few days ago."

"Oh right, you're 'just friends.' Nothing else," Rue teases. Katniss didn't really want to discuss the details of her relationship with anyone except Peeta, and would only give necessary information to his parents.

"Fine," Katniss concedes after a few minutes of Rue's teasing with a sing-song voice and kissing noises. "We're more than friends."

"_More _than friends?"

"Yes_ more _than friends," she reiterates.

"What does that even mean? Are you dating or just fooling around?" Katniss can't help but laugh at her bluntness.

"I care about him Rue and we've decided to take it slow."

"That's pretty slow. I mean you told me you been hanging out with him since June. It's nearly September."

"Well sometimes people like to wait until the time is right."

"Understandable," Rue replies.

The pair arrive at the hospital and head into Cinna's class where most of the other students are already there and warming up. Cinna is in the front and greets them as they take their places in front of the mats on the floor.

The class begins and throughout the routine, Rue keeps shooting Katniss teasing looks which causes her face to heat up. Between dodging Rue and focusing on her routine, she can't help but think back to her morning with Peeta. He had called her _baby _and was kissing her more intensely than he ever has. Her face continues to burn but it has nothing to do with what Rue is throwing her way.

After their class Katniss seems more worked up than usual and stays quiet during the ride home as she thinks about getting home to Peeta. Rue seems to have forgotten the whole situation and instead starts going on about going back to school in the fall.

"Did you hear what I said?" Rue questions snapping Katniss out of her daydream.

"Yes," she feigns annoyance. "You were talking about starting school and being nervous because it's your first year of high school."

"I did mention that, like fifteen minutes ago," she teases. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired from class," she responds.

"_Tired_. Is that the new code word for wanting to get home to jump on one's boyfriend? " Rue laughs.

"Rue," Katniss warns.

"Hey," she lifts her hands in mock surrender. "I'm just calling it like I see it," and she grins at Katniss.

"No I'm actually tired. I didn't sleep well last night and was looking forward to napping the afternoon away."

"But wait," Rue begins. "You said you would take me to the strip mall for some shopping after class. My mom gave me a huge list." Katniss smacks her head and she remembers the promise she made to Rue the night before when they had dinner together.

"I'm sorry, I forgot. I must be getting old," she smiles at her.

"You're 18 years old," Rue deadpans. "I think you have _love _fever and its affecting your memory." Katniss laughs and swats at her playfully as they stop for a red light.

"I'll ask Peeta when we get home so that he can come with us. Maybe we can make dinner again and you have some of his yummy food live in person," she tells Rue and she nods her head excitedly as she remembers the leftovers from last week.

When Katniss arrives at her building, she leaves Rue in the car so that she can get Peeta to go with them. As she enters her apartment she hears the faint sounds of a game being played and walks in on Peeta sprawled across her bed stomach down playing on his phone.

"Hey," she calls out and he turns over immediately giving her a smile.

"You're back," he tells her sitting up on her bed. She walks over to him and leans down to capture his lips. If only she had more than a few minutes, she'd be pushing him over on the bed and straddling him.

"I need to take Rue to the strip mall down on Main Street. Do you want to come with us?" Peeta nods his head in agreement between kisses. Finally after her failed attempt at deepening the kiss, Peeta takes her hand and reminds her why she came to get him in the first place. Peeta and Katniss approach the car and when Rue spots them she gets out to meet Peeta.

"Peeta this is Rue and Rue this is Peeta." The pair exchange handshakes and then pile back into the car. On the way to the store both Peeta and Rue start up an easy conversation about food, among other things and she revels in the feelings of having a normal relationship with her two friends.

First they stop at the drug store where Rue picks up a few prescriptions as well as some other items. Katniss and Peeta follow behind her alternating between holding hands and Peeta supporting her lower back. When they make their way into the supermarket, Peeta decides to pick up some items for an impromptu lunch he decided to make for them after Rue mentioned how good his food was before. Rue is excited to be invited to lunch with them and also drops not so subtle comments about Peeta being such a nice guy and how every woman desires to have a man who can cook.

Peeta and Katniss are thoroughly red by the time they're at the checkout from all of Rue's good natured teasing of the couple. She stifles a laugh as she looks back at them because they appear to want to dig a hole and dive in it. She doesn't understand how they could be embarrassed when they've been so obvious about how they feel for the other.

The drive home becomes livelier when Rue starts discussing starting high school again and Peeta gives her suggestions on what clubs would be interesting to join based on Rue's interests. Katniss parks the car in the lot, and Peeta helps Rue with her packages, leaving Katniss to carry the one bag of food that he purchased for their lunch.

After Rue is dropped off at her place with her items, she requests Katniss to call her when lunch is ready as she has to put everything away and change her clothes. They agree and bid farewell for now and head for the elevator. Peeta takes Katniss' hand when they enter the small compartment and travel back to the first floor and then walk to her room. Once inside it seems the same order of events from the morning begin again. This time though Peeta places the bag of food on the table before scooping Katniss up and placing her on the bed.

"Now where were we?" He grins mischievously.

Katniss wastes no time kissing and nibbling his jaw and neck as she allows his hands to explore her body. They are wrapped tightly around the other giving and taking in pleasure as they find new areas to touch or kiss on the other.

Peeta has her on her back as he kisses her bare stomach; nibbling the taunt skin and dipping his tongue into her belly button. She arches her back and moans his name as he place kisses right above the drawstring on her yoga pants.

Katniss somehow flips him on his back now and while she runs her hands up under his shirt; his muscles tightening in his stomach as he feels her soft hands, she gently bites and kisses his neck in preparation for that hickie she promised him. He groans as she flicks her tongue on the sensitive skin there, tightening his hold around her waist as she lays on him.

When they're thoroughly sexually frustrated and want to undress the other but realize they aren't ready for that step, they kiss gently facing the other on the bed.

"It didn't work," Katniss frowns as she stares at the spot on his neck where she had been giving attention.

"Don't worry," he whispers. "You'll have plenty of chances to mark your territory."

"Oh is that what that was before; you marking your territory?" He grins at her and then pinches her side, sending her into a laughing fit that dies down as soon as it starts when her growling stomach interrupts the mood.

"I'm hungry from all of this too. Let's start lunch." Katniss agrees and slides off the bed, then offers her hand to help Peeta up. "I want to make you guys these experimental cheese buns I've been thinking about suggesting to be served in the bakery," he begins.

"Well judging from the ingredients you bought; it looks like you want to make Chicken Parmesan again."

"I do," he responds. "But I want to shove them into cheese buns. I'll use mozzarella cheese instead of the ricotta I usually use to make it sweet. Instead it will taste like a dinner cheese bun instead of a dessert one."

"Cool. And I'm guessing after you bread and cook the chicken you'll cut it up and stuff it with sauce on the inside?" Peeta nods his head. "It almost like the chicken rolls at the pizzeria."

"But it'll have the flaky crust like a cheese bun," Peeta adds nodding his head.

The pair get underway preparing lunch with Katniss cutting up the vegetables and preparing the chicken while Peeta makes the cheese bun shells from scratch. It seems in no time the sauce is simmering and Peeta is cutting the breaded chicken Katniss made into tiny squares. She decides to disappear in the bathroom to freshen up while Peeta continues on his food journey.

When he's satisfied with the sauce, he adds it with the chicken to the cheese bun shell that's already filled with the melting mozzarella. Rue happily comes down to Katniss' room after she calls her to tell her lunch is ready. Peeta plates two large buns for each of them while Katniss serves the lemonade. When they settle down around the small table Rue offers to say grace over their food. Peeta remembers his grandmother doing this all the time but doesn't remember ever doing it with his own parents. Katniss never prayed over her food with her family, but welcomes the gesture by her friend.

"God, thank you for this food that was prepared for us and please bless my friends Peeta and Katniss for inviting me here today, Amen."

"Amen," Katniss and Peeta say in unison and then smile at one another.

The trio dig into their lunches and immediately both Rue and Katniss are singing Peeta's praises.

"You two really like it?" He asks them eagerly.

"Of course," Rue answers and Katniss nods her head. Peeta is on cloud nine as he listens to his friends eat his new creation. In no time the plates are emptied and everyone is satisfied. Katniss brings the dishes to the sink to start washing them while Rue helps wipe down the table and gather the garbage.

"I did make a few extra," Peeta announces. "They're smaller than the others but still the same." He hands Rue two of them in a Tupperware. "For your mother," he adds and she smiles.

"Thank you. I'm sure she'll love them."

The kitchen is finally cleaned and the garbage wrapped to go out. When Rue starts yawning, albeit fake yawning, Katniss smiles at her attempt to give them alone time once more. With a gentle hug to each of her friends, she takes the garbage and leaves the room.

"So it's just us again," Peeta tells her as he wraps his arms around her waist while they walk back to her living space after locking the door after Rue.

"Yes it is," she responds. "What ever could we do?" She turns to him and sees a wicked grin form on his face.

"I was hoping we could talk a little bit actually," he replies, his face taking on a more serious look.

"Is everything okay?" Katniss asks sensing the change.

"It's fine. I just wanted to tell you how much I missed you this past week."

"I missed you too," she smiles up at him.

"I think I missed you more than a person would miss a friend," he states placing a tendril of hair behind her ear.

"You missed me like you would miss someone who is more than a friend, right?"

"No," he answers leaning down to kiss her lips. "I missed you like you were my baby."

"Your _baby_?" He nods in agreement. "What does that mean?" She feigns ignorance. Katniss may be slow on certain things but she knows what he's getting at. He leans down again and begins to place kisses on her neck and then whispers in her ear.

"It means I want you to be my girlfriend," and he turns to look at her. While she knew this would eventually come up, especially with how they've both been acting around the other, she still seems speechless. He looks on expectantly but for whatever reason the words that she wants to say never leave her mouth.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait to update. Sometimes real life sucks. Well I hope you enjoyed the progress in their relationship! It has now been two weeks since she's been out of the hospital and the next chapter will occur a week later during Labor Day. After that the story will progress a little faster with only about five more chapters to go! Thank you so much for all your support and sticking by me :)**


	27. Chapter 26

Peeta looks down at her stroking her hair but still nothing comes out of her mouth. After a few moments he pulls her into a hug and whispers to her that it's okay. Katniss' face burns as she buries her head into his chest, trying in vain to escape from real life. He doesn't say much after that but instead takes her hand and leads her to her bed. With a small smile he opens his arms to her to lie down, but she's still trying to avoid his gaze.

Katniss gives in finally, and walks on her knees until she's close to him and in one quick movement she's laying on his chest again; her hair covering her face. Peeta strokes her hair and whispers sweet words to her, hoping to calm her. He knows her moods and when she's embarrassed she wants to hide. For now he'll oblige, knowing that she'd never turn down a nap with him. At least he has her like this he tries to tell himself, but it doesn't work as he had planned. She falls asleep soundly and he sits up holding her close and wishing that she was his.

The bakery is expectedly busy with Labor Day weekend approaching and that leaves Peeta buried in his work and Katniss missing his presence as usual. She doesn't want to think about how she left him hanging that night and how she disappeared into a dream while wrapped up into him. Katniss figured he was okay when she woke up a few hours later; his hands still stroking her hair. He had left her place to head back home; sealing their evening with a small kiss. Katniss had hoped she would have more time to spend with him, but understood his early morning that Saturday.

Her appointments dragged by with the anticipation of seeing Peeta again diminishing every time he texted her that he was beat from work and needed to head right home. He had sent her smiley emoticons in their exchanges over the phone, but it still felt like something was off. Was he feeling a certain way because of what happened on Friday? She didn't want to think about it honestly, but she knew he was probably hurt. They had done so many things together and it was natural to think that they could become a couple by now. Katniss trusted him and she knew he felt the same. What kept her so afraid of telling him what she knew she wanted?

By Thursday it was becoming all too much for her to not have seen him in nearly a week. He had even told her he was too busy to take a lunch break so she wouldn't even take the chance to drive to the bakery and then get turned down. Today was different though. She wanted to see him; no she _needed_ to see him. Thinking about him over the last couples of days due to his absence was overwhelming in the least for Katniss. She began to experience things she never had before over someone. He was in her thoughts, her dreams, just everywhere and she had to see him to tell him so.

The bakery was packed when she arrived but she got on line anyway and waited patiently for her turn at the register. Peeta didn't notice her there so he continued helping the customers with his usual smile. When she approached him and he made eye contact with her, his face fell a little. What was going on?

"Hi Peeta," she began wringing her hands.

"Hey," he trailed off. "What can I get you?" She felt slightly offended that he just treated her like some stranger off the street coming to buy something.

"Um, I was hoping we could talk?"

"This really isn't a good time," he whispers to her and her face pales.

"Go ahead Peeta," a deep voice behind him boomed. It was his dad. "I'll take over. It's your break time anyway." He looks between his father and Katniss in disbelief, and when his father asks for the next person in line, he walks slowly from behind the counter.

"I'll be back in 15," Peeta calls out to his father as he takes off his apron.

"Take 30. I'm going to pull Rye from the back." Peeta continues to stare at his father until he shoos him away. On the way toward the back he picks up a bag that sits on the counter. He doesn't speak to Katniss as he leads her to the backyard of the bakery. She follows behind him like a lost puppy out the back door and only walks in front of him when she sees a small table with two chairs set up. They both take their seats but neither says a word. Peeta opens the bag and pulls out a napkin and a cheese bun for Katniss and then one for himself.

"Thanks," she replies quietly and he nods his head. They each pick at their bun until finally Peeta speaks.

"I'm sorry," he starts. "I've been so busy and hadn't had much time for you." Katniss shakes her head after a moment.

"I think you're avoiding me," she speaks in a quiet tone looking between him and the bun.

"I'm not," he counters. "It's a madhouse here and I'm surprised Dad let me take this break." Katniss hears the defensiveness in his voice but doesn't believe him entirely.

"Well I'll just go then," she tells him as she begins to stand up. She's nearly at the door before he responds to her.

"No don't go," Peeta answers running his hand through his hair. He gestures for her to come back and when she does, he takes her hand as she sits back down. "I'm just…," he offers. "Confused."

"Why?"

"Because," he breaths. "I'm torn between my feelings for you." He stares at her, his blue eyes piercing into her.

"You like me don't you?" She responds childlike.

"I do, I just don't know where this is going."

"Oh," she looks down.

"But I feel terrible for feeling that way!" He tries to recover. "I understand what you're going through and I try to be there for you as much as possible. I just overthink sometimes."

"About what? If I'll get better?" She answers flatly.

"No," he shakes his head forcefully and grips her hand more tightly.

"That this isn't real?" he gulps.

"It is real Peeta. Everything. I care for you honestly but I'm just not ready for next step yet. I assure you though that I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. And I'm not going anywhere either." He gets up still holding her hand and then kneels before her. "I'm so sorry for being a jerk and ignoring you. I didn't know how to process this. It's all new to me being this close to someone."

"It's new to me too. We just need to take our time okay?"

"Okay," he smiles up to her and she leans down to capture his lips in the way she wanted to since almost a week ago. "Baby?" He breathes. "If you keep kissing me like this I'm going to have to bail out of work and go back to your place to continue to do this." Katniss laughs against his mouth, but she gets the point. After a few pecks on the lips, she pulls back and he stands up.

"Are you busy after work today?"

"I am," he replies sadly. "Brandon's branch of the bakery is really busy."

"It's okay," she smiles again.

"We have Monday and we can make up for all the lost time," he grins wickedly at her and he pulls her into a hug which turns into a few small kisses. "I'll call you tonight okay?" He promises her and she nods.

Katniss walks out of the bakery smiling wider than she had when she came in when she was thinking about him and she hopes seeing him today will tide her off until Monday. Unfortunately seeing him has the opposite effect on her; she wants him more.

It becomes increasingly more difficult for Katniss to focus in Cinna's class that Friday, or her meetings with Effie or Dr. Aurelius. Effie brushes it off as nervous energy for her upcoming meeting with Prim, but Dr. Aurelius knows better.

"What's going on with you Katniss? You seem distracted?" He asks her over their cups of tea.

"Just tired I guess, and nervous about seeing Prim next week."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"I don't think it is. What's going on in your personal life Katniss?" He requests as he sets his tea down on his desk.

"Nothing much. The same as before; going to my appointments, visiting Haymitch in his office, hanging out with Rue," she responds.

"Hmm. Are you sure it has nothing to do with Peeta?" Her face burns after he asks her this and she lowers her head in an attempt to hide her guilty red face.

"It's not Peeta," she mumbles. Dr. Aurelius shifts uncomfortably in his chair as he decides how to approach this topic with her.

"Are you two serious?" He finally asks.

"Serious about what?"

"Katniss," he warns.

"We're just friends."

"Katniss let's be honest with one another. You're not just friends. You've been acting differently since you've been out of the hospital and spending more time with him. It's a little obvious." Suddenly his choice of words angers her and she sits up quickly.

"Why does it matter what's happening between Peeta and I? Are you going to tell me he's not good for me and that I need to stop seeing him? Are you trying to act like my father or something?"

"Calm down Katniss," he puts up his hands. "I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life. I just want you to be aware of your circumstances and that a new relationship like that could hinder your recovery. You need to focus on getting better before entering a relationship like that; with anyone," he adds.

"What if I told you he's helping me?" She replies folding her arms. "He's there for me when I'm not in session with you guys and knowing that I have him there makes me feel really good. I don't know if I've ever felt this good before."

"Is it him making you feel good, or are you doing things now to make yourself feel good?"

"I don't know," she answers a few minutes later reluctantly. "Both I guess."

"Well think about that when he's around you for now on." Katniss nods her head but doesn't look up at him. "And I'm serious about starting a relationship with him other than friendship. You're not ready yet Katniss. You still have a few more milestones to reach before anything else can happen." She looks away annoyed that he has said this again but finally looks up at him and nods her head. He's right, she knows in theory, but she still doesn't know if she wants to take his advice.

When she arrives home later that afternoon and after her lunch with Rue, she sits back on her bed thinking about Peeta. He does make her feel good when he's around and she does do things that make her feel good that she hasn't done in a long time, or ever. Katniss wants to laugh when he here telling her jokes, and she wants to make dinner with him or drive to the meadow to spend time together. When he's around she wants to live the life she almost robbed herself of. Was it so wrong to do this now?

The next morning she packs a sweater and a light breakfast as she heads over to Peeta's house. The bakery is closed for the holiday and his parents are out with their friends, leaving the house completely empty for the pair.

"Good morning," she calls to him as she crosses his lawn. She called him when she was a few blocks away and it seems he had been standing at the door for a little while. When she gets closer she notices he's wearing a plain white t shirt and basketball shorts. His hair is disheveled and his face a little wrinkled.

"Were you sleeping?" She asks and his nods his head sheepishly.

"We were open really late yesterday; both locations and after cleaning up, I didn't get home until after midnight. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she answers as she leans upwards to kiss him and then follows him into the house.

"Do you mind hanging out on my couch for an hour or so? I just need a little more sleep." Katniss nods her head as they descend the stairs to his room.

"I thought I wasn't allowed in your room?"

"Technically you're not, but right now I could care less. I'm exhausted and I'm not going to have you sit upstairs and wait until I wake up. You can do that here," he laughs. She kicks off her shoes as Peeta face plants on his bed. He hugs a pillow to himself and closes his eyes. "Watch whatever you want. I won't be disturbed, I promise." Katniss smiles to herself as she tip toes to his couch.

She turns on the television; lowering the volume for his sake, and tries to find a decent program. She hasn't watched television in a while and it seems nothing on it interests her. Katniss finds herself staring back at Peeta though, and he breathes deeply in his sleep. The curls on his head are wild and his shirt is riding up on his stomach, exposing the blonde hairs there and his belly button. Peeta curves his body around his pillow and it makes her wonder how warm it must be right there. She would fall asleep in no time if she was curled up next to him. Finally after staring at him and neglecting the television program she turned to, she decides she wants to sleep too.

Katniss turns the television off with a click and walks quietly over to his bed. She walks with her knees to his sleeping form and as soon as she begins to lie on the bed, she feels just how comfortable it really is. Now she knows why he fell asleep so quickly; his bed feels like a cloud. After a few subtle movements, the pillow is behind her and her face in his chest. He smells like warmth and sleep and something citrus. Peeta makes tiny movements as he breathes and mumbles in his sleep as his arms find her; wrapping around her protectively. It shocks her for a moment his response to her, but she settles in as he pulls her into his chest.

"I knew you'd come," he whispers groggily a few moments later. "You can't resist sleeping with me," and he grins. She swats at his chest playfully and his grin widens. He opens his sleepy blue eyes and leans down to brush his lips against hers.

"I'm yours you know that right?" He asks her planting a small kiss on her lips. "I'm just waiting for you to become mine," and he smiles slightly again before closing his eyes and falling back to sleep.

* * *

**Hmm...I wonder where this will go? :) Thank you all so much for reading my story and sticking with me as always. Things are progressing. Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic if you want to chat. I'm always around. Thanks again!**


	28. Chapter 27

**Something different ahead :D**

* * *

Peeta is sound asleep and now Katniss is the one sitting up and watching him. She mulls around his last statement about being hers and she can't help but smile, but then she thinks about him wanting her to be his. She's never belonged to anyone in that sense; in a relationship where someone cared for her. It's scary but yet thrilling to know Peeta has already surrendered himself to her and he's just patiently waiting for her to do the same.

Katniss pushes herself closer to Peeta and lays her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Her hands follow next and gently slide across his chest and then down his stomach until she reaches the tiny blonde hairs that are exposed on his lower belly. They're so soft and she settles her hand there as she lets her finger gently brush against them. He sighs and she looks up and his eyes are still shut. She admires his long eyelashes; the way they lay against his cheeks and how his hair looks messy but is so smooth and soft once her hands are in it.

She gives in and lets her hand travel up to run along his jawline and then into his hair. Her eyes watch him as he continues to sigh in his sleep and she wonders if he feels her fingers on his skin and steadily getting lost in his hair. In that moment she lifts herself and leans down to brush her lips against his. Peeta's arms tighten against her and pull her closer until she's completely flush against him.

"See something you like?" Peeta asks her a few moments later in a husky voice.

"Yes. You," she replies as she captures his lips in a slow kiss. He moans against her while her fingers entangle into his hair further and she scratches the sweet spot in the middle of his head.

"You're going to kill me in my sleep," he manages between kisses. She smiles up to him and notices he's opened his eyes again. In one fluid motion she maneuvers him over her and he steadies himself there. "Is this what you wanted?" He requests leaning down to kiss her neck. She nods and readjusts herself so that he falls between her legs and comfortably over her.

They begin to kiss; their hands exploring one another with deep sighs escaping both of their mouths. Her hands settle under his shirt and on his strong back while his inch her shirt up slowly exposing her stomach. Soon he's there kissing and nibbling at the sensitive skin and her breath is hitching as he gets closer to her bra. He looks up to her finally and she looks down to him to tell him what it seems he's been waiting for his entire life.

"Take it off," she breaths and he looks at her dumbfounded. "My shirt. Take it off."

"Are you sure?" He asks as his hands play at the hem of her shirt and she nods her head. Peeta complies and carefully pulls her shirt further up and over her head, exposing her simple white bra. For a moment she's self-conscious as he looks between her breasts and her face smiling slightly even though he's half awake.

"You're beautiful," he tells her and she feels her face warm. He leans down to kiss her again and lets his hand inch up again until he's cupping her breast. She moans when he finds her sensitive bud through her bra with his fingers. Her head tilts back as he begins to kiss and nibble her neck, slowly descending her body until he's kissing between her breasts. Katniss can feel his excitement against her thigh and she giggles nervously as she feels him slightly rub it against her.

He smiles at her in hopes to ease her nervousness, and then kisses the skin around the fabric of the bra causing a throbbing feeling to grow between her legs. She knows that feeling as she's had it plenty of times when they made out. It's different now though that she's in bed with him with her shirt off. She tugs at his shirt finally and he breaks the kisses to bare his chest to her. Her fingers are running through his chest hair and he's bucking his hips slightly against her again.

"Touch me," she whispers and he leans down to kiss her again, letting his hands run up and down her body. When he reaches her breasts he gently squeezes and she lets out deep sigh. Peeta leans down to kiss the sensitive skin there while pinching her nipples on each side and finally it's all too much. She places her hand on one of his and slowly moves it down and over to the front clasp of her bra and while looking straight into his blue eyes she nods her head. He freezes there looking at the small plastic clasp and then back up at her.

"Baby?"

"Yes." She mewls, and he gulps and licks his lips before attempting to undo the clasp. Katniss helps him after a few moments and just like that it's open. He slowly moves the fabric away, exposing her inch by inch until all he can see is her tiny dusty nipples that stand up in attention.

"Is this okay?" He asks, his hands shaking as they still grip each side of her bra.

"Yes," she nods and gives him a small smile. His eyes are wide and she can feel his hands shaking against her. She places hers on each of them to calm him and then whispers to him.

"It's okay," she runs her hands on the tops of his. He leans down to kiss her lips in an effort to continue to calm himself and he feels her nipples brush up against his chest. He groans at the feeling and then pulls away to look at her face.

"I care about you so much Katniss."

"I care about you too Peeta," she smiles.

"I don't want to rush you into anything you're not ready to do. Are you sure you're okay?"

She's nods and then takes his hand and places it on her breast. He runs his thumb across her nipple and groans again. Instinctively he leans over to kiss her skin there and then each of her nipples. Katniss lets out a long moan and he takes his time kissing the sensitive buds, until he takes them one at a time in his mouth.

Now she's loud as she experiences this for the first time in her life; this change in sensation. He's bucking against her thigh lightly again as he alternates between her nipples, each one he thoroughly lavishes as she runs her hands through his hair. The throbbing between her legs only grows worse as he kisses her breasts and more comes out of her mouth then just moans.

"I need you to touch me Peeta," she throws her head back and he looks up to her again a bit confused to where she wants his hand. He lets it run along her side until he's at her abdomen and he brushes it lightly across causing her stomach to clench.

"Lower," she breaths and suddenly he understands. Before he can ask her if she's sure she answers him. "I'm sure Peeta. Please, touch me lower." He continues to drop his hand lower until his pinkie runs just inside her shorts along her smooth skin. She calls out his name and he continues to descend until he's on the outside of her shorts getting closer and closer to the throbbing that's been exciting her all morning. "There," she commands when his fingers hang over her middle. "Touch me there," she moans and he slowly starts to massage her there in an up and down motion.

She sighs and moans as every movement creates friction between her most delicate parts and her clothes. It's a new sensation that's keeping her eyes shut and Peeta's name on her lips. He keeps his hand there and ascends to her lips where he captures them in a sweet kiss. He swallows her reactions to his touch and by the movement of her body, he knows he's doing something right.

The feelings she's having as he touches her causes her to see stars behind her eyes. She feels a building of pleasure as they work together in this new territory of touch. Katniss nibbles his lips when she feels something more intense approach and she grabs the ends of his hair at the nape of his neck.

"Something's happening," she gasps and he smiles at he. Just like that her eyes close again, and her legs shut tight around his hand as her orgasm wracks her body. Katniss is in another world as a rush of pleasure runs throughout her body. It's something she's never been close to feeling before and here in his bed, Peeta has done this for her.

Peeta is running his hand through her hair as she comes back to him. She looks relaxed in this post orgasmic state and he decides this is the most beautiful he has ever seen her.

"You look happy," he tells her.

"I am," she turns to him. "I've never felt that before."

"Really?" Katniss shakes her head.

"I never had time to feel this way. Depression takes a lot out of you and I guess now with my new medication and therapy, my body is finally letting go."

"I'm glad," he responds leaning down to kiss her again. His hardness is against her thigh again and she thinks about how it would be to make he feel this way too.

"Can I do it to you?" She asks timidly when he pulls back after the kiss. "Make you feel like how I feel now?"

"Um, sure," he grins at her. Katniss turns to hover over him as he lays down on his back. She's still shirtless but doesn't seem to care as she wants to make him feel as good as he made her feel. Katniss starts slowly with a deep kiss and her hands running up and down his chest. She follows with kisses across his strong jaw and then his neck. In preparation of what's to come he closes his eyes and begins to relax, letting Katniss take the lead.

Her hands continue to descend his body until she's at his lower abdomen allowing her fingers to play in the soft hairs there. His breath hitches when her pinkie slips inside his shorts and across the coarse hair there. She follows his lead and inches her hands lower and on the outside of his shorts, until she feels his hard member. Peeta nearly jumps when he feels her hand on him and he tries to relax himself so that he doesn't finish before they've even started.

"Like this?" Katniss ask softly as she begins to move slowly up and down his shaft through his shorts. He nods his head quickly as his mouth hangs open sighing deeply when she runs her hand up and over the most sensitive part of him. Katniss continues to run her hand there, not exactly sure of what she's doing but by taking cues from his body language, she figures it's enjoyable.

"Baby," he whines as she begins to speed up. His stomach clenches with each stroke and her name alternates with 'baby' from his mouth as he feels his own orgasm approaching. "I'm close," his voice strains and soon he stiffens as he experiences euphoria. Katniss is by his side smoothing the hair from his wet forehead as he sports a similar smile she had just had only a short while before.

"That was incredible," he smiles and turns on his side to wrap his arms around her.

"It was," she smiles up to him. They lay next to one another smiling and sharing a few small kisses until Peeta reluctantly gets up to clean up in the bathroom. While he is away Katniss sits up to look for her shirt and when she finds Peeta's first, she decides to put his on instead.

"Hey, isn't that mine?" He jokes when he comes back and finds her wrapped up in his shirt and laying on the pillow.

"Yes," she replies shyly. "It's soft and it smells like you." Peeta leans down to kiss her as he gets back into bed.

"Okay," he responds nuzzling into her neck and planting a few kisses. "I think it looks better on you anyway."

The pair cuddle and hold one another, thoroughly enjoying the after effects of their first orgasms together, until they eventually fall asleep. When they wake up a few hours later, they are spooning with Peeta protectively wrapped around her back.

"Are you hungry?" He whispers against her and in her state of half sleep, she nods her head. "Okay. I'll make you lunch." Peeta gently sits up and then carefully helps her up. Katniss cheeks warm as she looks at him; shirtless with disheveled hair. It's her favorite look for him. Peeta leans over to smooth her hair back behind her ear before planting a small kiss on her lips.

Peeta gets out bed first and rifles through his drawer for a new shirt while Katniss turns away from him to put her bra and tank top back on. As much as she would like to wear his shirt all day, she knows if his parents show up unexpectedly, they would have some explaining to do.

After they've both gotten dressed and had a trip to the bathroom, Peeta takes her hand and walks with her up the stairs. When they make it to the kitchen Peeta makes sure to pull her seat out for hair and assure she's comfortable before going off to start their lunch.

"Why are you so delicate with me all of a sudden?" She wonders aloud as she covers the smile on her face.

"Oh," he begins as he takes out the fixings for their chicken parmesan buns. "I don't know. It's just different now." Suddenly she knows what he means. Things are different now between the two of them. They've shared something intimate with one another and it makes their magnetism feel even stronger.

"Have you done that before?" She blurts out and Peeta goes red as he turns to answer her.

"Um, somewhat." He replies turning his burning face away from her as he prepares their food.

"What does that mean?" She wonders and feels something strange in her throat at the thought of him touching someone else like that.

"I've made out with some of my ex-girlfriends and one touched me there," he cuts himself off.

"Oh," she looks away from him and at her hands. He continues to prepare the food but notices her posture at the table.

"It meant nothing to me though," he continues.

"It's alright," she answers. "I mean I know you dated other girls. I guess I was just curious. I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked," she cuts herself off now.

"No you can ask," he assures her as he puts down what he's doing and takes a seat next to her. "Our relationship is changing and we should talk about these things with one another." Katniss nods not looking up at him and he takes his hand and runs it gently over her smooth cheek. "Have you done anything like this before?" He finally asks her.

"No," she laughs nervously. "You were my first everything so far. I told you before, no one noticed me at school besides you."

"Well too bad for them," he responds leaning over to kiss her.

The pair sit there holding hands for a moment before Peeta gets up again to continue their lunch. After the buns are baked he brings them to the table along with lemonade. Feeling bolder after their first heart to heart, and maybe a little possessive, Katniss takes a seat in Peeta's lap after he's sat down.

"Oh, we're eating like this today?" He questions and she nods as she begins to pick at the bun and pass it between his mouth and then a piece to her mouth.

"They're good," she comments as she starts work on the second bun. In no time they find themselves at the last bun and Katniss strategically takes off small pieces so to extend their meal. "Only one piece left," she teases as she brings it to her mouth, but before she can, Peeta leans over and bites it out of her hand. "Baby?" She exclaims. "That was the last piece," and she looks at him feigning anger but all she sees from him is a smirk.

"Baby?" He asks her and now she realizes why he's smirking. She quickly turns around and away from him on his lap and face plants. "Katniss," he sings her voice. "Did you just call me baby?"

"Maybe," she quickly responds and he begins to laugh.

"So am I your baby?" He prods slipping his hands under her tank top and running them across her belly.

"Maybe," she repeats and he laughs against her back placing kisses there through her shirt. Eventually she turns back toward him and he looks up at her grinning this time. Katniss leans down to kiss him slowly and that's all he needs to know.

"I'm your baby?" He repeats as he kisses her and she nods her head. Peeta nibbles at her lips and holds her close to him. They stay in their position for a little while enjoying their kisses and celebrating what he hopes is her agreeing to be his girlfriend. When their lips are swollen from kisses and smiles cross both their faces, he asks her the inevitable.

"So that means you're my girlfriend?"

"Peeta," she smiles at him but he continues to look up into her eyes. "Yes," she finally tells him. "I'm your girlfriend." After one last peck, they stand up and begin to clear away the dishes on the table.

The pair find themselves on the back porch outside of Peeta's room staring over at his mother's garden and alternating at the puffy clouds in the sky. When Katniss said she was indeed still hungry after lunch, Peeta fished out two ice cream cones from the deep freezer and they decided to enjoy them back here.

"Those clouds look like sheep," Katniss points out and she lays in Peeta's lap.

"They do," he agrees looking up at the same cluster she's looking at. "Can I ask you something?" He requests as he strokes her hair.

"Sure," she looks up at him.

"Were you jealous back there? Of my past?" Katniss sits up and looks at him brushing his hair back with her fingers.

"A little maybe," she admits.

"Is that why you decided you wanted to be my girlfriend?" He takes a deep breath preparing for her answer.

"No," her eyebrows furrow. "I've been thinking about it for a while now, but I've been scared. But how you made me feel today; so safe and comfortable. And how you helped me experience feelings I've never felt before. It all just clicked and then I knew I could let that last wall down and completely be yours."

"Oh," he smiles. "I feel the same way. I've never wanted to be this close to anyone before. To share more than just something physical, but also emotional and even spiritual." Katniss smiles at him and leans over to kiss him gently.

"You taste sweet," she comments between kisses.

"You do too," he sucks on her bottom lip. "And your tongue is cold." Katniss giggles against him and he pulls her into his lap. After a few moments of sharing a few kisses, they head up into the den to settle on the couch and watch a movie.

It's early evening before Peeta's parents arrive home and find Peeta and Katniss sitting together on the couch watching an old movie. Katniss is asleep as she lays on his shoulder and his arm wraps around her securing her next to him.

"Hey kids," Mr. Mellark greets when he walks in.

"Hey dad," Peeta looks over to him. Mr. Mellark smiles when he sees the two together and then turns to his wife who walks up behind him and witnesses the pair together. She softly smiles at her husband before heading into the kitchen for a drink.

The week prior Peeta had a talk with his parents where he confessed he had feelings for Katniss and how he struggled with helping her and not feeling as if he was rushing her into anything. They suggested they take their time and offered for them to have the day to themselves in the house while they went away with their friends. Peeta had assured them that nothing sexual would go on and that they would stay out of his room. He bent some of the rules by having her down there for the time they were together, but decided it was best his parents didn't find that out.

"We'll talk to you later," his mother adds as both her and his father head for the stairs and up to their room. Peeta smiles in their direction as they depart and then looks down at a sleeping Katniss.

"My beautiful girlfriend," he softly says to her as he caresses her cheek. She stirs a bit but doesn't wake up.

After a little while she does finally wake up and before she's off to her place again, his parents come downstairs to wish her a good night. She's soft spoken as they speak to one another and she makes plans with Mrs. Mellark to come over to their house soon to help with the garden to prepare it for the fall.

Peeta takes her out to the porch where they share a hug and a kiss, before walking her all the way to her car.

"I'll text you tonight," he tells her and she replies with the same. As she drives away a smile crosses her face and she makes sure to check him out in the rearview mirror as he waves to her.

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**Yay! So they are finally together! After all of these weeks and everything they've been through, they're finally a couple!**

**Thank you all so much for your support for this story. I read all of your reviews and am thankful for every one. There's about three chapters left including the epilogue so stay tuned for the continuation of this story.**

**As always find me on tumblr if you want to chat there and feel free to leave feedback!**


	29. Chapter 28

"Your skin is so soft," Peeta whispers to Katniss as he holds her against him. He runs his hands up and down her bare back, low sighs escaping her as the warmth spreads under his touch. She straddles his lap as he sits against her headboard, leaning down pressing kisses against her skin. They spent the evening and much of the last few evenings continuing to explore this new territory with the other.

"Thank you," she responds as she runs her fingers along his chest. He chuckles and leans down to kiss her neck again. Katniss sighs against him again and he gently lifts her chin and looks into her soft gray eyes.

"What's wrong baby?"

"Just thinking about tomorrow's session with Prim," she tells him.

"Oh," he quirks his eyebrow and she nods her head against him. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you."

"It's okay. I don't think Dr. Aurelius would have let you sit in on the session anyway. He's still pretty upset about our relationship and wants to keep things separate." Katniss had revealed to Dr. Aurelius that she had taken the next step with Peeta in their last session and he wasn't happy about it. Dr. Aurelius spent a half hour trying to explain to her once again that her recovery came first. Katniss argued her case for Peeta but it left her with was a red face and a scowl by the end of their meeting. They had to take a time out during it all where Katniss walked outside to the hospital's courtyard, and he went to get more coffee. At the end they agreed to disagree and that was the end of it.

"I can't believe how he reacted to all of this. He has to know I'm serious about you; that we're serious about one another."

"I tried to tell him that but he told me we were too young to start a relationship like this under the circumstances. I just got so angry," she confesses and he strokes her hair.

"I know baby and I appreciate you defending me. In the end it will all work out and he'll see how good we are for each other. In the meantime though, don't stress yourself out about seeing Prim tomorrow. It will go fine alright?" He smiles down at her and she returns a small one.

The pair continue to sit in their embrace until Katniss' legs begin to cramp and she crawls off of him. After redressing, Peeta goes into her small kitchen and makes them both sandwiches that they eat in bed.

"I wonder how your mother has been treating Prim since you left." Peeta mentions between bites.

"Me too. Some part of me worries she's being treated like how I was, but then I remember how much they favored her. Maybe they're all happy and could care less about how I'm doing."

"Don't say that," Peeta tells her. "From what I saw of Prim she at least cares."

"Maybe," Katniss answers him. "But with her living with my mother who doesn't care, I'm sure she'll eventually feel the same way."

"I hope not," he responds. "I hope your mother comes around like your dad did and tries to work with Dr. Aurelius to form a family again."

"I honestly don't know if I want that. I know it hasn't even been two months, but I'm happy by myself like this. I have my support system of all my therapists and I've made friends with Rue. And most of all, I have you in my life," she leans in to kiss him.

"Really?" He blushes.

"Really," she breathes against his mouth and then captures his lips again.

"But you also need your family and I think you should all at least give it a try," Peeta manages between kisses.

"I have a family; right here with everyone," she responds capturing his lips again. "And that includes you," she whispers. "You're my family now." Peeta searches her eyes not knowing what to say to this revelation. Instead, Katniss takes their plates and places them on the side table and then sits on his lap and kisses him again. It's not long before they are in the state they were in not less than an hour ago; their clothes off and in each other's embrace.

It's nearly a half hour after the curfew that Peeta manages to leave Katniss' place. They stood at her door sharing a long kiss before the sound of the security guard on his walkie talkie outside of her door cause them to jump apart. He promises to call her when he gets home and she promises to wait up for it.

Katniss falls into a deep sleep after the phone call with Peeta, and she credits that to her exhausting yet relaxing evening with him. It's not until she's combing out her wet hair in the morning that she suddenly feels the dread she had been feeling about her sister's visit. What would Prim be like now after having not seen her for so long?

Her hair swings behind her back as she heads to her car in the lot, and she can't help but feel her hands begin to shake as she starts her car and heads to the hospital. Peeta texted her early in the morning with encouraging words and a promise to see her after her appointment. He took the day off to be with her and she looks forward to his comfort after her ordeal.

Katniss arrives at Dr. Aurelius' office at eight thirty and for a minute while parking her car she thinks she sees her mother's familiar car. She freezes as she looks on; her heart suddenly racing as her little sister hops out of the car and gives their mother a small wave before walking into the building. It would be expected her mother wouldn't walk her sister in; she's probably afraid of bumping into Katniss.

As her mother drives away, Katniss instinctively ducks down into her car, praying her mother doesn't see her. Her heart is still beating and her hands are sweaty as she lays her head against the back of her seat. She takes a few deeps breath to calm herself down but feels the shaking from earlier start again. Her hand goes toward her purse next to her in search for her anxiety pills and when she finds the bottle she hurriedly screws it open and shakes out one pill and pops it in her mouth and under her tongue. Katniss closes her eyes tight as the pill dissolves; praying it will take effect as fast as possible.

After a few moments of steadying her breathing and letting her medication work, she slowly inches up and places her hands on her steering wheel. "I'm okay," she tells herself over and over until she believes it. Katniss takes her phone and purse and gets out of her car, locking it before slamming the door shut.

As she walks into the hospital and to the elevators to Dr. Aurelius' office, she feels her legs grow heavy as she continues her journey to his office and ultimately into this session with her sister. When she gets off the elevator and onto the floor, she can hear the faint sounds of the both of them talking. She starts her breathing exercises again and by the time she reaches his office she's in mid breath. Prim is sitting across from Dr. Aurelius drinking from a paper cup while he arranges a pad of paper and a pen. She stops there observing until Prim turns around and sees her.

It happens so fast that Katniss doesn't have time to react. Two arms are wrapped tightly around her in a feeble attempt the hug her tight and close.

"Katniss!" Prim cries as she hugs her sister. "Katniss," she says again and she repeats it slowly until her voice breaks and she can't speak anymore. Katniss is frozen there as she looks ahead at Dr. Aurelius who is looking on at the two and Prim continues to cry against her with the occasional uttering of her name.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry," she chokes out behind tears. Katniss continues to looks straight ahead as her sister apologizes and hugs her tighter. She paralyzed as her sister speaks, not knowing what else to do besides hold herself up. Finally she lifts a hand up and it lands on her sister's heaving back. Prim's blonde braids brush against her arm as her body shakes.

Dr. Aurelius stands up after a few moments and awkwardly guides the two to the couch where Prim curls up next to Katniss and continues to cry against her. Katniss looks between her and Dr. Aurelius and he's there in an instant kneeling before the two and offering Prim a tissue.

"It's okay," he whispers to her. "Please sit up alright so we can start this." He speaks to her in a low childlike voice and finally after a few final heaves, she nods and sits up slowly. Katniss finally makes eye contact with her and notices her blue eyes are filled with tears and are red and puffy.

"Hello Katniss," she croaks staring up at her big sister.

"Hey Prim," she replies in a monotone voice. They sit there staring at one another while Prim wipes her eyes.

"Alright ladies," Dr. Aurelius begins. "I want you each to tell the other what's been on your mind about all of what's been going on in the last two months."

"Katniss I miss you," Prim starts with her voice breaking. "I'm so sorry for all of this. For all of what mom put you through. For what I put you through. I'm just so sorry about it all." Prim is still crying but not as intense as before while Katniss sits there still frozen that her sister reacted that way when she saw her.

"Oh," is all Katniss can get out as she stares at her younger sibling.

"I know you hate me," Prim continues. "I was horrible to you, but I know now what I did was wrong. I know that mom was wrong and I tell her that every day especially when she tries to make me forget about you." Katniss takes a sharp intake of breath at Prim's words not knowing how to respond to that. Her mother is trying to make Prim forget about her. How could she even do that to one of her daughters?

"I don't hate you," Katniss manages finally in response, her throat dry.

"You should. I contributed to that," she points at Katniss' wrist. The scar there has healed and faded, but from time to time still itches. Katniss avoids looking at it as much as possible because it sometimes shocks her she even did that to herself, but Peeta kisses it from time to time when they are together as he thanks God that she's here with him.

"This is just really hard for me," Katniss states.

"I'm sorry," Prim repeats reaching out to grab her hand. "I don't think I can say it enough."

"It's okay," Katniss breaths as she look down at their hands. It confuses her seeing her sister show affection toward her when the last time this happened Prim was probably 8 or 9. She honestly doesn't know what else to say because part of her feels bad for her sister.

"It's not okay," Prim tells her shaking her head. "Look what we did to you," and she points to her wrist again. "How can you be so calm about this all?" Prim's voice is rising and Dr. Aurelius approaches them again slowly.

"I don't have a choice," she answers after a few minutes.

"You have a choice," Prim shoots back. "Be mad at me! Yell at me! I deserve it," she cries and the tears begin running down her face again. Katniss looks up at her, her eyes wide not knowing what else to do or how to respond.

"I-I can't," Katniss stutters and then looks back and forth between Dr. Aurelius and Prim.

"Are you alright Katniss?" Dr. Aurelius questions and Katniss shakes her head. "Do you have anything to say to Prim?" Katniss stares at the doctor and digs deep inside her head to come up with something. Sure she's angry at how her sister treated her but she resigned that it wasn't her fault.

"I'm okay," she whispers. "Prim I'm not mad at you," she turns to her sister now who is still crying. "In therapy I discussed my feelings about you and I've come to the conclusion that it's not your fault. You were young and mom influenced you heavily. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how we're going to fix this relationship if it's even possible." Prim face wrinkles up again and she cries harder.

"I want a relationship," she chokes out. "Please don't push me away. I'm sorry," she continues and Katniss just stares at her. Dr. Aurelius pushes a chair closer to the pair and begins to console Prim who is hysterically crying at this point. Katniss looks on and is at a loss for words why she can't feel anything about this situation. At first she was so nervous to confront her sister but with all the emotions coming out of her, she doesn't know what to do or how to handle this.

After a few minutes of Dr. Aurelius calming Prim down, he once again prods Katniss to speak to her sister.

"I don't know what to say Dr. Aurelius," she speaks to him. Prim is expressionless as she sits next to Katniss picking at her fingers. "I don't know how to do this," she finally confesses.

"Okay," Dr. Aurelius responds. "I'll try to help you along." Katniss nods at him. "Tell your sister how it felt when she would tease you." She shakes her head in Dr. Aurelius direction and then turns to her sister who is now looking up to her.

"I don't blame you for those things Prim. I know it was all of mom's doing so I'm over that."

"Tell me what you want me to do so we can have a relationship," Prim whispers.

"I don't know," she replies honestly.

"Okay," Dr. Aurelius breathes. "We'll have to start with you two doing activities together to start to re-strengthen the bond you two had a long time ago. Do you think you can do that Katniss?" She nods at him and then repeats the question to Prim who also nods.

For the remainder of the session Dr. Aurelius tries in vain to prompt Katniss to speak to her little sister but nothing seems to come up. At the end Prim hugs her and then Dr. Aurelius walks her to the front of the building where she meets with her mother.

"Katniss you'll have to do better than that next time," he tells her when he comes into the room.

"I don't know what to say to her Dr. Aurelius. I'm honestly not mad at her. I'm just shocked that she actually showed remorse when she was here. I wasn't prepared for that reaction from her."

"Didn't you read her letter?"

"I did, but I didn't think she meant it. I thought she was coerced by Peeta."

"Well she wasn't," he responds. "Your suicide attempt snapped her into reality and from the time I was able to spend with her before you came in today, and that short phone interview I begged your mother for a few weeks ago, shows me that she does want a relationship with you and wants things to change."

"Okay," Katniss replies looking down at her hands.

"So I think for your next appointment on Wednesday I'll set something up for you and her to do together. How does that sound?"

"Alright I guess," Katniss murmurs. "But what about next Sunday's session with my parents? Is it still on?"

"It is. I want you to keep that in mind so that you have questions and statements ready for them." Katniss nods her head.

"What about Peeta?"

"What about him?" Dr. Aurelius questions.

"I want him there with me. To be my support system while I talk to them. My parents will have their spouses and I think I should have somewhere there with me as we talk."

"Katniss, we went over this. I don't think it's a good…" Katniss puts her hand up and cuts him off.

"I know what you said but Peeta means a lot to me. I consider him my family now and I would really like it if you'd allow him to be there with me. I know it's going to be hard and tissues and soft words won't help," she tells him sternly. "I need him there next to me when I tell them how they've hurt me. I need him there so I'm reminded there still some good in this world and that someone cares about me in all of this mess." Her eyes glisten as she speaks to him and he nods his head.

"I can't make any promises," he tells her. "But I'll think about it alright?"

"Okay."

Katniss leaves the hospital and heads back to her place to get ready for Peeta's arrival. She showers and changes and soon enough he's knocking at her door.

"Hey baby," he greets as he hugs her and plants a small kiss her lips.

"Hey," she smiles at him. Katniss takes his hand and leads him to her bed where he arranges himself against the headboard and she straddles his lap. She lies against his chest and he begins to stroke her damp hair.

"How was it?" He finally asks her and she shakes her head.

"I don't even know. Prim burst into tears when she saw me and between the hugs and apologies, she told me she wanted a relationship with me. I didn't know what to say so Dr. Aurelius scheduled another session with her where we have to do something together to help with our bonding."

"Oh. Are you alright with that?"

"I'm fine. She's not the problem though because I blame my mother for her behavior. I just feel bad because I didn't feel anything but confusion."

"I'm sorry," he whispers in her ear and then places a small kiss there.

"It's fine." Katniss looks up to him and then pulls him into a kiss she quickly deepens. "I just want to be with you now," she whispers against his mouth. "I don't want to think about this right now. I only want to think about how you're going to help me forget it all, if only for a moment," a small smile forms on her lips.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes baby I'm sure. I just want to think about the one person I know cares about me and wants an actual relationship with me and not out of pity or of some revelation because they almost lost me. I want something real Peeta."

"Okay," he responds kissing her again. "It's real between us. Everything I do is real because I care about you so much."

"I know," she gasps as he begins to nibble her neck.

Peeta makes quick work of both of their clothes and stares into her eyes as his hands roam across her body. Her breath hitches when he touches her most sensitive spots and soon she moaning softly as he places kisses on her skin. It doesn't take long for him to bring her to the edge with her hands and when she's finished bringing him there, he holds her in his arms running his fingers through her hair.

"I told Dr. Aurelius I want you there next week and he told me he'd think about it." Peeta nods his head. "He doesn't have much of a choice though because you're coming in with me no matter what." Peeta smiles now and dips his head to kiss her.

"You defend me so well," he smiles.

"Of course. You're my family now and that what you do for family." He tightens his hold around her and finds himself kissing her more deeply than before.

* * *

**There's about three more chapters after this one. I added an extra one from the last time I updated you guys. Thanks for sticking with me on this story.**

**Find me on tumblr at lenai17 or anais117-fanfic.**


	30. Chapter 29

**Yay a quick update! Thank you all for the support so far! **

* * *

Wednesday approaches quickly and Katniss manages to keep her meeting with Prim out of her mind the beginning of the week, that is until she's pulling up into the parking lot of the hospital. Dr. Aurelius scheduled their appointment for early evening so that Prim could come after school and luckily for Katniss, she doesn't run into her mother and see her car when she parks.

Katniss is on the floor and at the threshold of Dr. Aurelius' office in minutes it seems and to her surprise Prim isn't in his office.

"Where's Prim?" Katniss questions as she takes a seat on the couch.

"There's something I need to talk to you about Katniss," Dr. Aurelius begins.

"What? What happened?" Katniss replies.

"Well it seems like your mother doesn't want Prim coming to these appointments anymore. After the one on Sunday she claims Prim is traumatized, even more than before when she found you after your suicide attempt. She's having another doctor work with her and for now she doesn't want her coming here to see you."

"Okay," she responds in a low voice.

"How do you feel about that Katniss?"

"I don't really know," she answers honestly. "When I got home Sunday I just tried to forget about what happened here because it confused me." The truth is Katniss spent much of the afternoon and early evening allowing Peeta to help her forget. It worked as she was so relaxed from the evening she nearly missed her appointment the next morning.

"Do you want a relationship with your sister?"

"Eventually I guess," she answers.

"Okay," he replies. "I will continue to talk to your mother and hopefully you'll be able to reunite with your sister again. For now though, let's discuss my expectations for the meeting you're going to have with your parents on Sunday."

Dr. Aurelius pulls out a pad of paper and goes over the key points he wants Katniss to hit with her parents including her feelings on how she grew up, why it led up to her suicide attempt, her feelings living on her own, and what type of relationship she wants with them in the future.

"Does this sound reasonable?" He questions after he puts the pad of paper back on his desk.

"It does. I'm just interested to see how my parents will react to it all."

"Me too," he responds looking down at his paperwork. "Also I've thought about it and you can bring Peeta if you want to. I understand this will be a difficult session for you so it only makes sense to have someone there that you are completely comfortable with."

"Thank you," She responds with a genuine smile.

Katniss leaves Dr. Aurelius' office a short while later and heads to the bakery where she has a small lunch with Peeta out back. For a moment she forgets about the impending meeting with her parents and just focuses on how Peeta continues to make her laugh and smile. He tells her stories about difficult customers or the times Rye has been caught with his girlfriend in the office. Peeta thoroughly enjoys watching her laugh and the way her eyes well up with tears because something is particularly funny.

When it's time for her to go, he holds her at the back door for a little while just staring down at her.

"What?" She asks blushing at him.

"Your eyes," he begins. "They're just so beautiful when you're happy."

"Well it's all because of you," she smiles up at him. "You make me incredibly happy. I've never felt this way in my life."

"I'm glad, but honestly you make it easy," he tells her as he brushes his lips against hers.

The next few days leading up to her session fly by as she fills it with her appointments in the mornings and usually dinner with Rue or Peeta in the evening. Since Rue started back in school, her appointments are later in the day so she tries to catch up with Katniss around dinner time if either of them are available.

Sunday morning Peeta finds his way to Katniss' place as soon as the security guards change shift at 7am. The session is scheduled for 10am and he figured he could help her further prepare for what was to come. When she lets him in, he greets her with a kiss and then he's off to making breakfast for her in her small kitchen. Katniss takes this time to shower and get dressed and when she's finished, he is as well as he brings the plates to the table.

"How are you feeling?" He begins.

"Okay," she shrugs her shoulders as she stabs at an egg.

"You'll be fine. Dr. Aurelius will be there to keep everything orderly and I'll be there holding your hand the entire time. We'll get through this," he tells her.

"Thank you," she offers with a small smile.

Peeta clears the plates away and brings her over to her bed where he just holds her against his chest. He runs his hands through her hair and over her shoulder while she looks on into some undetermined spot on the wall. She revels in the warmth of him and snuggles in closer and closes her eyes and sighs.

"Baby it will be alright," he whispers to her and she nods her head. "Remember I'll always be there for you no matter what. I'm your family now remember?" She looks up to him and he smiles down at her. Katniss snakes her hand up and into his curls and lets her fingers run there smoothing his hair against his scalp.

They find themselves napping soon after, Katniss pressed against him and his arms securely around her. Her cellphone alarm goes off and the pair awake reluctantly. Katniss washes her face and brushes her teeth again while Peeta puts his shoes back on. They're both quiet as they leave her place and walk toward his car. She silently thinks about the gravity of the situation while Peeta drives along to the hospital, his hand never leaving hers.

When they arrive she spots her parent's cars right away; they must have arrived at the same time because they're only a few cars apart. She grips Peeta's hand a little tighter and he turns to observe her, suggesting she take her medication, but she shakes her head and they continue on into the hospital.

They take the elevator up and when it dings onto Dr. Aurelius floor Katniss closes her eyes tight and steadies herself against Peeta. He gently walks her out of the elevator but stops off to the side and wraps his arms around her. She breaths deeply against him as he rubs long circles into her back.

"Just breathe," he coaxes her and she does against him. After a few minutes she pulls away from him and is greeted by a small smile. "Ready?" He requests and she nods her head. Katniss leads them both down the hall and into the office. Dr. Aurelius is there and greets them immediately before inviting them in to sit down. Peeta offers his hand and Dr. Aurelius takes it as they both introduce themselves. There's a round table in the room and they both notice her parents aren't there.

"Where are they?" Katniss asks confused.

"Oh, I wanted them to sit in another room for a few minutes before we started. I needed to make sure you are ready before we begin." The pair sit down next to Dr. Aurelius with Katniss in the middle. "First things first, I am glad you brought Peeta with you today because of what I've discussed with your parents beforehand, you will need him here."

"What did you discuss with them?" Peeta nearly interrupts.

"Just what I told Katniss but it will be emotional and she was right to suggest you be here with her." Katniss nods her head and then settles into her chair. After Dr. Aurelius goes over the format once more he leaves the room to get her parents.

"Are you ready?" He whispers to her and she nods. "Kiss for good luck then," he grins softly and she leans in to capture his lips. As Peeta caresses her cheek and she smiles softly at him, they are interrupted by Dr. Aurelius who clears his throat to signal her parents are coming in. Katniss stares straight ahead at them as the four adults file in. Her father's face lights up when he sees her and he walks over to give her a small hug; which she reluctantly gives him, and then a hand shake to Peeta. Her step-mother also walks over and hugs Katniss which is very awkward and then introduces herself to Peeta.

It's not surprising her mother sits down with her step-father and only offers a stiff 'hello' to the two of them. Katniss tries to hide the scowl that builds but it's inevitable that she'd give her mother that expression.

"Good morning everyone," Dr. Aurelius finally begins. "We're here today to have one of our first family meetings where we will discuss Katniss and her parents. I wanted the meetings separate at first but for now we'll do it this way and then in the future change them up a bit. So let's get started. Does anyone have anything to say?" He looks around at everyone, noticing the fidgeting and that Peeta is only looking at Katniss to gauge her expressions."

"I do," Mrs. Reynolds begins and everyone looks over at her, even Peeta. "Why is he here? I thought this was family only and not bring your boyfriend to therapy day." Katniss feels the heat on her cheeks and both her father and step-mother look away, not knowing what to say.

"She requested his presence here and I allowed it," Dr. Aurelius interjects.

"But this is a private session," she continues. "It's about family business and I don't feel comfortable discussing family business around someone who isn't family."

"He is family," Katniss finally speaks, her voice shaking. Her parents all turn to her as well as Dr. Aurelius and Peeta. "He's been there for me more than any of you have and that's why he's here today. He's my family now and I decided I wanted him here with me today." Her breathing changes as she confesses this to everyone and she can't help but look at Peeta who is smiling at her and squeezing her hand. He mouths the words, 'you're amazing,' and a small smile forms on her lips.

"Whatever," her mother finally mumbles and Dr. Aurelius clears his throat again to settle everyone.

"Okay, let's try this again. Why don't we start with discussing Katniss' childhood." Katniss sits up straighter in her chair and with Peeta's hand locked in hers, she stares around at her parents.

"She was a beautiful baby," Mr. Everdeen begins. "I had never seen a baby with so much dark hair before," he smiles at her, his eyes glassy. "I knew from there that she was special." He nods his head and then wipes at his eyes and his wife places a hand on his back. Mrs. Reynolds shakes her head and then looks down at her hands on the table.

"Would you like to say something Mrs. Reynolds?" Dr. Aurelius offers when he notices her body language.

"It's nothing," she shakes her head.

"So tell us how it felt when you first saw Katniss as a baby." Everyone focuses on her; even her husband, but she can't take her gaze from her hands.

"She was beautiful," she finally admits. "But I don't think I felt what Ruben felt." Mr. Everdeen looks over at her and his mouth drops. Katniss looks between the two not understanding what her mother is trying to say.

"What did you feel?" Dr. Aurelius prods.

"I was afraid," she answers. "I was 18 years old and I had a baby. I was scared to death."

"But you had me," Mr. Everdeen interjects.

"I guess," she answers looking up to Mr. Everdeen and then back at her hands.

"Tell me what's going on in your head Katniss," Dr. Aurelius steers the conversation to her.

"Something is missing," she speaks in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" The doctor asks.

"Why were you afraid? You always made it seem like you wanted to have me. Why tell me you were afraid when you saw me? All I ever remember is you telling me how you were already serious with dad when you were my age. Why tell me now that you were afraid when I was born?" Words pour out of Katniss as she looks between her parents, their postures reflecting very different things.

"Because I was afraid I made a mistake," her mother speaks softly.

"Not meaning you Katniss," her father jumps into the conversation. "Right Lily?" He asks Mrs. Reynolds. Lily looks up and with a scowl of her own faces Mr. Everdeen.

"I meant having Katniss," she responds firmly. "It was a mistake." The room grows quiet with the exception of the noises coming from Mr. Everdeen and his wife.

"How could you say that Lily?" Mr. Everdeen asks. Katniss continues to looks between them as Peeta begins to run his hand down her back, hoping to catch her before she falls at her mother's words.

"We're being honest right? Aren't we having this session to tell Katniss the truth?" She's breathing heavy now and tears are welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry Katniss but you're an adult and it's time we've stopped sugar coating everything for you. What we've told you all your life was a lie."

"What?" Peeta now joins the conversation looking at her parents. "What type of monster are you? How could you say that to your daughter?"

"Mind your business Mellark!" Mrs. Reynolds raises her voice and then Katniss sits up violently.

"Don't you talk to him like that!" She yells at her mother. "You have no right to speak him like that. He's the most important person in my life right now and he deserves more respect than that!"

"Oh wow," her mother begins leaning back against her chair. "Now that you're finally getting that itch scratched, you think you're a grown woman and you can challenge your mother. Well listen here sweetie, you need to know the truth. I'm tired of lying to you just so your father can sleep at night. You need to know the truth," she repeats slamming her fist against the table.

"Settle down please!" Dr. Aurelius tries to cut in when Peeta has to physically sit Katniss down after she's started spewing insults at her mother who doesn't seem to hesitate to return them.

"Lily don't do this," Mr. Everdeen tries to cut in as well. "Just leave it alone."

"Leave it alone," she scoffs. "So that you can feel better? She's 18 now and she needs to know the truth about her family history so she can get on with her life."

"No," he begs but she shakes her head.

"The truth is Katniss, it was a mistake having you. The reason why your life is the way it is now is because you weren't supposed to happen. Your father and I weren't even together officially when you were created. We hooked up at a party and after I was talked out of getting an abortion, I had you and your father married me out of guilt," she rambles. Dr. Aurelius is standing up now and trying to get her mother to stop talking. Mr. Reynolds has his head in his hands while Mr. Everdeen is crying into his wife's arms, who is also shedding tears.

Katniss sits there looking at her mother whose face has gone all white as she tells her the truth for once. Katniss is breathing heavy but no tears are escaping her eyes. Tears stain Peeta's face as he tries to get through to her but she's silent.

"Why would you say that?" Dr. Aurelius finally asks Mrs. Reynolds after he looked over at Katniss.

"It's the truth and I'm tired of holding it in. It's why I haven't been a good mother to her. It's why her father left us. Her existence wasn't based on two teenagers who fell in love and had a baby. It instead was of a mistake of two horny teenagers and now we both get to see how we ruined her because of our selfishness. I'm sorry Katniss," her mother responds as tears begin to fall down her face.

"I'm so sorry Katniss," Dr. Aurelius begins as rolls his chair closer to her. She's shaking now and Peeta gets on the floor and kneels before her.

"Look at me baby," he softly commands and she turns her head. "I'm here okay. I'm here," he whispers and she slowly shakes her head.

Peeta focuses on comforting Katniss after Dr. Aurelius assesses that she'll be okay, while in the background he directs her parents into another room to speak to them privately. Peeta manages to get her to the couch where he wraps his arms around her and holds her to his chest. He apologizes to her repeatedly but all she does is push her face closer into his chest to inhale his sweet smell.

After a little while Katniss falls asleep on him and Dr. Aurelius returns to the room.

"I'm sorry I left like that. I had to put that fire out first. How is she doing?"

"She's asleep," he answers quietly.

"Alright, I'll give you two the room for a little while. I'm really glad you were here today," he speaks to Peeta. He nods his head and then Dr. Aurelius leaves the room.

Before they leave his office for good that afternoon, Dr. Aurelius apologizes again to Katniss and then sets up another appointment for her to discuss what her mother said in the session. She agrees but doesn't speak anymore while she's there with him. Dr. Aurelius suggests Peeta stay with her that night and even calls Effie to arrange it with Haymitch so that she doesn't get in trouble for an overnight guest.

Peeta brings her home and immediately they find themselves in bed; her cuddled against him and fast asleep. He runs his hands through her hair and kisses her lightly on her face as he tries to come to terms with what they found out today. He couldn't believe how cruel her mother was to her and how she felt it was something Katniss needed to hear.

In the early evening Katniss stirs awake as she lies against his chest. She sees that he's snoring gently and decides to wake him up with a few kisses.

"Baby," he responds with a groggy voice as she plants a small kiss on his lips.

"Wake up sleepy head," she smiles as she hovers over him. He looks up at her and notices her smile and that her hair is loose and hanging over her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she continues to smile. He sits up and brings her closer to him and on his lap.

"Are you sure? We heard some heavy stuff today," he asks.

"I'm fine," she shakes her head. "But I don't want to talk about that right now. Besides it doesn't look like I'm going to have a relationship with them anyway because they lied to me so it's a relief actually." Peeta searches her eyes and something seems off.

"Baby no," he shakes his head. "This is serious. I'm worried about you because of all of that."

"Baby I'm fine," she chuckles nervously. "Really, I am." Katniss leans in to kiss him and she tries to deepen it, but he stops her.

"I don't believe you," he replies softly. "You need to discuss this and soon alright. Maybe you can get an earlier appointment with Dr. Aurelius or maybe you can talk about this in group therapy on Tuesday…"he rambles but she cuts him off.

"Okay. I'll call Dr. Aurelius tomorrow to see if I can come in early. Is that okay?" She smiles at him.

"Yes it's fine," he leans in to kiss her. "You know I worry about my baby right?" He pulls her in closer and shows her just how much she means to him. Afterward when they're both too exhausted to get dressed, Peeta's phone rings unexpectedly.

"Hello?" He answers. "Hey Dad what's going on?" He kicks the covers off of him and swings his legs to sit on the edge of the bed. They continue talking and Katniss rolls over to wrap her arm about his bare torso and lets her fingers play in the soft hairs on his stomach.

"Dad I really need to be here for Katniss though. Today's session was really hard on her. I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone just yet," he continues and Katniss brings herself up and leans against his back, both arms now around his torso.

"Okay Dad. I'll be there, but I can't stay long alright. I promised her and I made arrangements so that I could be off."

"I'll see you in a bit alright. Love you," and he hangs up the phone and turns to Katniss. "I'm so sorry Katniss but Dad needs me at the bakery. This last minute cupcake order came in and since I have the fastest hands…" Katniss cuts him off with a grin. "What?" He asks playfully.

"Oh I know you have the fastest hands," she laughs and he grabs her around the waist and tickles her.

"God you bring me so much joy," he smiles at her before leaning his forehead on hers. "I won't be gone long. Not more than two hours tops I promise."

"It's okay baby," she responds. "It's your bakery too and I understand completely. Besides I'm feeling okay. I just needed my boyfriend to remind me of what's important in life."

"Alright," he smiles. "I'll be back tonight and then we can finally spend the night with one another again. I still can't believe Dr. Aurelius called in that favor for you to Effie and Haymitch."

"Yes that was awesome," she smiles.

Peeta gets himself dressed and with a long kiss at the door he's off to the bakery. Lucky for him it's Sunday and the traffic is nonexistent so he gets to the bakery in record timing. After he cleans his hands and puts on his apron, he starts frosting the cupcakes with ease. His father smiles as he looks on at his son's handiwork. Even though he's going fast, he's still able to make the intricate patterns that only he can make.

"Good job Peeta," Mr. Mellark comments as he watches his son continue to frost. "I guess you have someone really special to get back to," he chides and Peeta looks up with a smirk shaking his head.

"Speaking of that," Rye interjects, "There's someone on the phone for you Peeta. Their name is Haymitch Abernathy. He says he's a friend of Katniss'?" Peeta looks up and furrows his brow, not understanding why Haymitch would call him at the bakery. He didn't even know he had that number. Peeta sets down the icing bag and walks slowly over to the outstretched phone his brother is holding.

"Hello," he answers in a low voice.

"Peeta?" Haymitch asks in a gruff voice.

"Yes it's me. What's going on? Is everything okay?" There's a slight pause before he answers again.

"No Peeta. Not by a long shot. Katniss is on her way to the hospital and I need you to get there. I'm sorry…." but Peeta cuts him off when the phone goes crashing against the floor.

* * *

**So don't kill me :( **

**I promise to not leave you hanging for too long.**

**Thank you again for all your support in this!**

**Find me on tumblr at lenai17 and anais117-fanfic.**


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